“His mentality is changing every day” – Mikel Arteta reacts to incredible turnaround from Arsenal star during 2-1 win over Fulham
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has heaped praise on Gabriel Magalhaes after he scored the winning goal against Fulham at the Emirates Stadium.
The 24-year-old made a horrendous mistake to allow Aleksandar Mitrovic to put the newly-promoted side ahead against the run of play.
The Gunners kept up the pressure and soon found an equalizer when captain Martin Odegaard calmly finished just after the hour mark. Five minutes before full-time, Gabriel made up for his earlier error when he bundled the ball home following a Gabriel Martinelli corner.
GOAL! Mitrovic capitalises on a terrible mistake from Gabriel to give Fulham the lead 🤯 https://t.co/A10D9TyR7V
The victory kept Arsenal's 100 percent win rate to start the season alive and Arteta praised his centre-back after the full-time whistle. The Spanish boss was clearly delighted with the way his team fought back against their London rivals as he stated (as quoted by The Express):
“It was everyone's reaction after the equaliser that made us believe [in a possible victory]. It's no coincidence that Gabby scores. His mentality is changing every day."
Gabriel has started the season in spectacular fashion, with the Brazilian international playing every minute of the Gunners campaign so far this term.
Gabriel went from zero to hero 📈 https://t.co/zLbV6P5sg9
Mikel Arteta delighted with how Arsenal responded to going a goal down
The north London side continued their incredibly impressive start to the season and they remain atop the Premier League table.
Arteta was full of praise for his team following the full-time whistle, as he told Sky Sports (as quoted by BBC Sport):
"Big boost, winning like this is really nice. We made a mistake and they punished us but then how we reacted against adversity, the connection with the supporters, the way we went about it, the team believed. They wanted to win the match, they went for it and we managed to do it."
The Arsenal boss later told Match of the Day:
"We reacted with a great mentality after a big mistake. We were in control and made a mistake, but we reacted well.
"We had to make changes. The players had to do it and credit to them, because they really made a difference.
"The players have to enjoy today, then start thinking about how we recover and prepare for Villa. It’s going to be another big fight."
Arteta further added on Gabriel:
"Gabriel has shifted his life, the way he looks after himself. He has enough physically and mentally to overcome those situations and I’m so happy for him."
🗣 Gabriel: “After I lose the ball, my head is down, but I look at my brothers, they say "Gabi, Let's go, let's go!" and I put my head up” #afc
https://t.co/aDvbch7bGU