Gabriel makes Vinicius Jr feelings clear after Ballon d'Or snub as Arsenal await injury update
Arsenal defender Gabriel has offered his support to Vinicius Jr amid the men’s Ballon d’Or fall out.
Manchester City's Rodri beat the Real Madrid trio of Vinicius, Dani Carvajal and Jude Bellingham to the top honour at Monday evening's ceremony in Paris, with no one from the Spanish club in attendance due to them feeling "disrespected". As a result, there was nobody on hand to collect the men’s club of the year award, Carlo Ancelotti could not accept the men’s coach of the year award, and Kylian Mbappe was not there to take his share of the Gerd Muller trophy alongside Harry Kane.
In a statement reported by Spanish newspaper AS, Real Madrid said: "If the award criteria doesn’t give it to Vinicius as the winner, then those same criteria should point to (Dani) Carvajal as the winner. As this was not the case, it is clear that Ballon d’Or does not respect Real Madrid. Real Madrid does not go where it is not respected."
A number of players have taken to social media to offer their support to Vinicius after he did not win the award, with Arsenal centre-back Gabriel among them. Taking to Instagram on Monday night, the Brazilian posted a picture of the Real Madrid forward with the words "Melhor do mundo!!! (gold medal emoji)." That translates to "Best in the world."
It comes after Gabriel limped off in the second half against Liverpool on Sunday after appearing to pick up a knee injury. The 26-year-old was seen with ice on his knee a short while later and it remains to be seen if he will be fit for Wednesday's Carabao Cup fixture against Preston.
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Speaking after the Liverpool game, Arteta couldn't offer much good news. "I don't know, but he could not run," their head coach said. "I don't know what happened.
"I don't know if it's the knee joint or the ankle. They're assessing him now so [touches wood, the desk]."
Gabriel also posted on Instagram to try and ease fears. "In everything give thanks [translated]... [raised hands and bicep emojis]", he added to his story. Alongside an image of his leg on a raised cushion with what looks to be a compression sleeve, Gabriel is already doing his work to try and recover.
Posting again to his story, Gabriel added: "We keep fighting together!! [red heart and clapping emojis]." With a picture of himself on the pitch shouting encouragement at his teammates, Gabriel appears to be in good spirits despite being unable to complete the match.