Arsenal’s Gabriel talk the north London derby and São Paulo clasicos

Arsenal defender Gabriel is relishing his first home North London derby with the Gunners on Sunday and has admitted that players prepare differently for big derby matches. Speaking with arsenal.com, Gabriel said, “What they tell me about the history and importance of derbies is that it’s a rivalry that is really big. It’s also about […]
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sambafoot_admin
2015-11-08 16:02:00

Arsenal defender Gabriel is relishing his first home North London derby with the Gunners on Sunday and has admitted that players prepare differently for big derby matches. Speaking with arsenal.com, Gabriel said, “What they tell me about the history and importance of derbies is that it’s a rivalry that is really big. It’s also about the history that Arsenal has of giving all it has in every match, of being determined.

“I think you enter the pitch differently in a derby, you prepare yourself during the week in a totally different way. You go in with your head thinking differently and everything is very different.

“You’re much more focused and the same happens with the rivals. That’s what makes it such a difficult, complicated game for both sides.”

Gabriel has yet to appear in a North London derby since arriving from Villarreal in January. The Brazilian defender confessed that he had not been aware of the strength of the rivalry prior to his arrival, “People talk about it a lot here. When I first came I thought the main rival was Chelsea, but my teammates told me that Tottenham is the main rival.”

Gabriel spoke a little about some of the derbies that he grew up watching in his native São Paulo, “São Paulo has four big rivalries, especially when Corinthians plays against Palmeiras, it is a great derby similar to Arsenal and Tottenham, with a great rivalry on and off the pitch. Many years ago, there used to be lots of fighting on and off the pitch, but today you can say it is better. It’s a bit calmer.”