Arsenal legend Ray Parlour doesn’t see “anything wrong” with Gabriel Magalhaes’ behaviour towards Erling Haaland, which Gary Neville called “disrespectful”.
The Gunners recorded a statement 5-1 victory over their rivals Manchester City on Sunday. Mikel Arteta’s men were visibly amped up for the fixture, which has become increasingly heated in recent seasons. That was clear immediately as Arsenal defender Gabriel taunted Haaland in his face when Martin Odegaard scored the opening goal two minutes in.
There were several more barbs exchanged between the Brazilian and Haaland throughout the game, after the latter threw a ball at his head earlier this season. Eighteen-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly then mimicked Haaland’s celebration after netting Arsenal’s third goal – a response to comments made by the Norwegian towards him back in September.
Former Manchester United defender Neville, who was on commentary for Sky Sports’ coverage of the clash, repeatedly voiced his disapproval towards the Arsenal players’ behaviour. Despite having been involved in several incidents during his own career, including against the Gunners, Neville singled Gabriel’s celebration out as “disrespectful”.
But former Gunners midfielder Parlour, 51, has come to the defence of both Gabriel and Lewis-Skelly. Parlour insisted that such passion is necessary during big games against rivals, which he described as “battles”.
Talking exclusively to Mirror Football via NetBet Sports Betting, the three-time Premier League champion said: “There’s always going to be rivalry between top clubs. At the end of the game, you should shake hands and say ‘that’s it, the game’s over’. But in the game you’re trying to get one over on your opposition.
“Against Man United, I always thought the first tackle was very important. I got taught that as a kid coming through with Pat Rice, get the first tackle right and you’re suddenly on the front foot. I don’t see anything wrong with that [Gabriel versus Haaland]. I like the rivalry. The fans get a real buzz out of it as well seeing how much the players care.”
He added: “When you put that Arsenal shirt on you’re going into battle and you do everything you possibly can to get a result. If you’ve got that mentality as a player, you’ll win a lot more than you’ll lose because you’ll be a harder team to beat. Having said that, after the game we did spill over at Old Trafford once because emotions are very high in football.”
The game in question refers to a 2003 fixture between United and Arsenal, dubbed the ‘Battle of Old Trafford’ for its ferocity and drama. The match saw Gunners captain Patrick Vieira sent off after kicking out at the fixture’s pantomime villain, Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Parlour was among the group of Arsenal players who infamously surrounded and shoved Van Nistelrooy after he missed a last minute penalty to win United the match – a goal that would have stopped Arsene Wenger’s Invincibles season in its tracks.
The chaos after the final whistle was the culmination of years of intense rivalry between England’s top two sides, who regularly battled for domestic trophies. Neville himself was accused of targeting Arsenal’s wingers with aggressive challenges during that time, with Vieira telling the pundit in 2024: “I couldn’t stand you because you were just kicking everybody,” leaving the pundit laughing.
Yet Neville expressed his distaste towards lesser antics on Sky Sports after Arsenal’s win over City, saying: “I want to mention Gabriel and what he did to Haaland. It happened to me here, actually. Not here [Emirates Stadium], it was at Highbury many, many years ago. Where a player [Ashley Cole] came up and screamed in my face. We actually won the game 4-2 that day. I actually don’t like it. I think it’s a bit disrespectful.
“I get the fact that Haaland’s sort of pantomime villain here today, but there’s something about it that I didn’t like about it. I was many things but I never did that. I never went and screamed in a player’s face. I don’t know, I just felt there’s something about that I thought made me feel a little bit uneasy, a little bit disrespectful.”
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