Speaking on his YouTube channel, Rio Ferdinand has been discussing Gabriel Magalhaes after his polarising display against Leeds United.
The Brazilian had something of a weird weekend. He helped Arsenal keep a clean sheet, but at the same time, he was very nearly sent off and very nearly gave away a penalty only for VAR to spare his blushes.
The rescinded red card incident was an utter moment of madness as he fouled Patrick Bamford off the ball, completely losing his composure at that point.
Ferdinand was critical of Gabriel, stating that he doesn’t like emotional defenders, but he agrees that if the centre-half can grow out of this sort of thing he could be a very good player.
FERDINAND CRITICAL OF GABRIEL
The pundit shared why he’s not Gabriel’s biggest fan.
“You centre-backs you don’t want them to be spoken about a lot in the games, you just want an eight out of 10 every game. But every week he’s in the headlines with a little bullet point next to his name and a bad incident,” Ferdinand said.
“I don’t know if you want to replace him. That energy, as much as we call him a liability, he’s performing. Time will tell if he’s someone you want to stick by. I don’t like emotional defenders, but if he can grow out of that you have a good player there.”
KEEP IT SIMPLE
Gabriel has all of the fundamentals of a good defender, but he’s often overcomplicating things for himself.
Whether he’s getting too emotional, chasing lost causes or committing silly fouls, the defender does have a gaffe or two up his sleeve.
The fact of the matter is that the defender needs to go back to basics. He needs to keep things simple and not get involved in anything that could cause controversy or unsettle his emotions.
Ferdinand is right, Arsenal could have a great player here, but he needs to mature a bit on the pitch.