Micah Richards took issue with Gabriel Magalhaes trolling Viktor Gyokeres by copying his celebration - but Alan Shearer was a fan of the Arsenal defender's taunt.

Arsenal romped to a 5-1 victory over Sporting CP on Tuesday night, showing their Champions League credentials by handing the Portuguese giants their first home defeat in 18 months. In-form defender Gabriel scored the Gunners' third goal in monstrous fashion, towering above the Sporting players to head the ball in from a corner on the stroke of half time.

The Brazilian centre-half then unveiled his own stunning twist on Sporting striker Gyokeres' trademark celebration, running towards the corner flag and putting his hands across his eyes while locking his fingers. It appeared to be a jibe at Gyokeres, having kept the fearsome Swede quiet alongside his defensive partner, William Saliba, for the entire evening.

The celebration went viral on social media, especially given that Gyokeres has recently been linked with an Arsenal transfer. But pundit Richards, speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, saw the act as unsavoury and unnecessary.

Richards, a self-confessed Arsenal fan, said: "Gabriel has been excellent. I don't quite agree with his Gyokeres celebration. We don't need to go there, mocking Gyokeres. He did the celebration when he scored the goal. I'm just like, you don’t need to do that. Be the bigger person."

Newcastle legend Shearer interjected with: "Oh, what a load of s***. Let him do it if he wants to," to which Richards jokingly responded: "You're like Wrighty [Arsenal hero Ian Wright], Wrighty's got into your head too much, telling you, 'F off Al, let him do what he wants.'"

The former Manchester City defender added more seriously: "Alan, I'm all for fun, you know me. But these moments here always come back to bite you. I love his confidence. I love the fact that he can bring it.

"But why's a defender even thinking about doing a Gyokeres celebration? I know he's good at set-pieces, but come on! Gabriel, I love you, but you shouldn't be doing that."

Podcast host Gary Lineker then gave his own thoughts, saying: "I'd actually be quite flattered if I was Gyokeres that he actually knew about me and my celebration. I don't have a particular problem with that."

Gyokeres, who has also been heavily linked to Manchester United, commented on Gabriel using his celebration after the match. The goal-scoring phenom took a subtle dig at his opponent, telling ViaPlay: "He's welcome to steal it if he can't create his own celebration! I didn't know he did that, but it's fun he likes my celebration."

Gabriel could have been getting his own back after Sporting midfielder Pedro Goncalves mocked former Arsenal star Granit Xhaka's celebration back in 2023. The Portuguese side knocked the north Londoners out on penalties in the Europa League round of 16 in March of that year, and Goncalves mimicked Xhaka by putting his thumb on his nose and extending his hand out.

The defeat is widely considered to have derailed Mikel Arteta's side's season, with injuries to Saliba and Takehiro Tomiyasu in that game later leading to their collapse in the Premier League title race. There was no such issue on Tuesday, however, with Arsenal now seventh in the Champions League league phase with three games to play.

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