Mikel Arteta addresses video of apparent row between Arsenal duo after Forest draw



Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has spoken out on a video clip that appears to show Declan Rice and Gabriel Magalhaes getting into an argument of sorts after last night’s 0-0 draw with Nottingham Forest.

The Gunners are now almost certainly out of the Premier League title race after back-to-back wins for Liverpool which have come while the goals have dried up for Mikel Arteta’s injury-ravaged side.

It’s not too surprising to see that the mood among the players maybe wasn’t the best after last night’s result at the City Ground, with Gabriel and Rice seeming to get into a bit of a row after the final whistle.

“I got gay tendencies and kissed him on the mouth” – who said this about Zlatan Ibrahimovic and what happened next?!

See below for the clip that’s been doing the rounds on social media…

?? Mikel Arteta on Declan Rice and Gabriel arguing: “I don’t know, I walked to the referees and our supporters, and didn’t see anything.” ????

“They’re probably demanding each other – I really don’t know the topic that they discussed.” ?pic.twitter.com/rbGKpsq801

— DailyAFC (@DailyAFC) February 27, 2025

This sort of thing is probably quite normal, but Rice in particular seemed really annoyed about something.

It’s not clear, of course, if this had anything to do with Gabriel, with the England international perhaps just venting his frustration about something else to the Brazilian centre-back.

Mikel Arteta dodges question about Arsenal row

Arteta also didn’t seem to know what this was about, as he insisted he simply didn’t see the incident.

Declan Rice acknowledges the Arsenal fans after the Nottingham Forest game (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Speaking after the game, as quoted by football.london, the Spanish tactician said: “They’re probably demanding [more from] each other.

“I really don’t know the topic that they discussed. I don’t know, I haven’t seen it. I walked to the referees and our supporters, and didn’t see anything.”


 

Arsenal’s title challenge may well be over for the season, but they still need to keep it together for their upcoming games in the Champions League.

The north London giants have so often under-achieved in Europe, but it might be a more realistic shout for them now as a bit of luck in knockout football can go a long way, whereas it’s surely just impossible to catch Liverpool now even with a perfect run-in.