Rio Ferdinand on Mikel Arteta’s Reaction to Arsenal Draw with West Ham

Rio Ferdinand has urged Gabriel Magalhaes to get the ‘rash’ decisions out of his game following Arsenal’s 2-2 draw with West Ham on Sunday. The Gunners appeared to be on course to restore their six-point lead at the top of the Premier League as they took an early two-goal lead against West Ham, but David Moyes’ side were handed a way back into the game when Gabriel brought down Lucas Paqueta inside Arsenal’s penalty area and Said Benrahma stepped up to convert the spot kick. Ferdinand said on Vibe With Five: ‘I thought they [Arsenal] let themselves down. They had the game in a stranglehold, they had West Ham where they wanted them, going into half time 2-0 up, you coast that game. But rash… and I’ve said this about Gabriel a few times. He’s rash, he makes mad, wild decisions. As a defender you’ve got to be calm. There’s no need for him to do what he did. It was a rush of blood, he needs to eradicate that, get that out of his game quick. As a manager you don’t want to see that. Because those types of things ruin the head too many times, it starts becoming part of their make-up, and you’re going, ‘hold on, can I rely on this guy?’. I think he’s had a fabulous season, Gabriel. But those types of decisions can be very costly, he’s in the run-in now. That will hurt, the way they dropped points.