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Football London
Football London
Sport
Tashan Deniran-Alleyne

What happened between Granit Xhaka and Sokratis after Gabriel's goal for Arsenal vs Olympiacos

Gabriel Magalhaes scored an important goal for Arsenal in their Europa League last-16 first-leg win over Olympiacos last night.

However, at one stage there appeared to be some confusion as to whether the goal was going to stand.

As Gabriel leaped to head home Willian's pin-point cross to restore Arsenal's lead, the Brazilian looked to have injured Olympiacos centre-back Yann M'Vila.

The Frenchman required attention from the medical staff and the BT commentary team suggested the goal was being reviewed by VAR on the grounds that Gabriel fouled his marker before scoring his first European goal for the Gunners following his move from Lille last summer.

Eventually, the goal was allowed to stand. But not before both sets of players were arguing their points.

Particularly Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Granit Xhaka.

In an exclusive interview with football.london before the game, Sokratis named the Switzerland international as one of the players he has kept in touch with since leaving Arsenal in January.

"I'm in touch with the players. I spoke with them and they are excited that we play against each other. I'm close to a lot of them: David [Luiz], Granit [Xhaka], [Pierre-Emerick] Aubameyang, Laca [Lacazette], Hector Bellerin and also Cedric Soares - these are the players I speak a lot with.

"I spoke with them and of course it's strange [to be facing Arsenal] but I want to win - I want to go to the next round with Olympiacos. Friendship is one thing but qualification is another."

And as the image above shows, the pair had a quick catch-up after Gabriel's goal.

Xhaka appeared to be gesturing that Gabriel's jump was perfectly fine, while Sokratis pointed at his teammate on the floor to suggest a foul was made.

In the end, the debate was won by the current Arsenal player as the goal stood and the visitors ended up winning 3-1 thanks to a long-range strike from Mohamed Elneny.

Next up for the Gunners is the north London derby against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday before welcoming Olympiacos to the Emirates Stadium for the return leg.

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