Gabriel Hails Ezri Konsa After Both Arsenal Defenders Score In Everton Win

Only a week later, the Nottingham Forest boss will have felt vindicated with his words after both defenders found the net in Arsenal’s 2-0 win against Everton. 

It was a memorable afternoon for both centre-backs, with Konsa opening the scoring on the day after his 29th birthday.

The defender reacted quickest inside the box to a loose ball from Martin Odegaard’s corner, directing it into the back of the net inside the first 10 minutes. 

Gabriel marked his 200th Premier League appearance with his first goal of the season, rising to meet Ben White’s cross, sealing all three points for the Gunners. 

Speaking to the Arsenal website post-match, he said: “I feel really good, it was a nice day for me and to make my 200th Premier League appearance in this shirt is a pleasure,” 

“I'm really happy, and thank you to the fans for the love, but the most important thing today was the three points.”

The Brazilian defender is now only one goal away from matching Laurent Koscielny’s record of 22 goals - the most scored by an Arsenal defender in the Premier League. 

Following Manchester City’s loss to Aston Villa earlier on Saturday, the result carried a weight of importance with the Gunners able to capitalise. 

Gabriel reflected on his goal, explaining: “I'm always going to be in the box, I want to score, but I also want to be the best in defending the box. Today it happened and I'm really happy to score my first goal of the season.

“I'm really proud of myself. Everything I do is to make myself stronger, to learn every day, and I'm really happy to make my 200th appearance with this shirt.”

Since Konsa’s arrival, the pair have kept six clean sheets in 10 games together, creating a formidable partnership while William Saliba recovers from a back injury.

“[Ezri and I] just spoke about it in the dressing room. We work so hard every day. Today it happened, the two centre-backs scored, so we are really happy. 

“He's a top guy, we’ve known his quality since he's arrived at Arsenal. He shows his quality and he can perform at a big level. I'm really happy to have him with us,” he added.

“I think we work very hard every day to be the best team, so we are really happy and we keep going. The Premier League has just started and we are ready for the rest of the games.”

Arsenal now have little time to rest before turning their attention towards the Carabao Cup, with a trip to League Two opposition Fleetwood Town scheduled for Tuesday night.