- Gabriel watched on sat down as Arsenal swept aside the European football kings
- His wife sang Arsenal’s anthem, danced around, and dropped to her knees in joy
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Gabriel Magalhaes took in Arsenal’s exuberant 3-0 victory over Real Madrid swaddled under a blanket.
The injured centre-back wrapped up warm in a black Balenciaga hoodie while his wife, Gabrielle Figueiredo, celebrated rather more excitedly with friends in their VIP box.
There were fears his absence would kill off Arsenal’s Champions League hopes, but two gobsmacking free-kicks from Declan Rice and a beautiful finish from Mikel Merino gave them a 3-0 advantage heading into the second-quarter final leg in Spain.
While Gabriel’s face was a theatre of emotion, he remained sat down as the goals flew in, but his wife Gabrielle was more dramatic, dancing around and falling to her knees with her hands lifted high.
She also filmed herself singing North London Forever with a pal at full time as the Emirates basked in a historic occasion.
Gabriel, 27, is out for the rest of the season after surgery on a hamstring blow which he sustained against Fulham on April 1.
Gabriel celebrated Arsenal’s victory over Real Madrid sat down under a blanket at the Emirates
Meanwhile, his wife Gabrielle Figueiredo was in teh party spirit as she danced around
Gabrielle sported a Balenciaga hoodie as he watched Arsenal tear apart Real Madrid 3-0
But despite missing arguably their player of the season, the Gunners are on course to reach a first Champions League semi-final since 2008-09, when they lost both games to Manchester United.
Gabriel and Gabrielle appear on the new season of Married to the Game, the reality show which follows the interior lives of elite players’ wives and girlfriends.
At a screening of the show, Mail Sport caught up with Gabrielle and quizzed her on the injury blow which has left a football club reeling.
‘It’s difficult,’ she said.
‘So that (the injury) is why he’s not here with me today. He would love to be here. I would love to be here with him.
‘Yesterday we got the news he got injured, and now he is with the doctor having scans. So this is the real life, and we were never expected to anything like this.
‘I think the only thing that we could do is being together and be the assurance for each other,’ Figueiredo continued. ‘That is the thing that I (will) do when I arrive home today.
‘And yeah, it’s not easy, but we try our best to create this bond together every day, in every difficult moments.’
Declan Rice scored two stunning free-kicks to sink Real Madrid in the second half on Tuesday
Mikel Merino added the final blow to help Arsenal take a 3-0 lead to the Santiago Bernabeu
Arsenal have one foot in a first Champions League semi-final since the 2008-09 season
Gabriel is out for the rest of the season after requiring surgery on a recent hamstring injury
Mikel Arteta has called for more relaxed squad rules for clubs to be able to cope with the proliferation of injuries.
It follows a spate of injuries which have severely hampered Arsenal this season. Forwards Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus are also missing for the rest of the campaign.
Previously, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Ben White and Gabriel Martinelli were all absent for long periods.
League rules require teams to submit a maximum squad of 25 prior to the season starting, and then confirm their squad again after the January transfer window closes. On match days, a maximum of nine players can be on the bench.
Arteta said: ‘Logically if we demand the players to play more games in more competitions with more travel and more intensity, the only solution to deal with it is more players. I don’t see any other solution.’
