Gary Neville has criticised Gabriel Magalhães for what he described as “absolutely embarrassing” play-acting during Arsenal’s 1-0 Premier League victory over Liverpool at Anfield.

Gabriel was involved in an early confrontation with Alexander Isak after the Liverpool striker made contact with him around the upper chest.

The Arsenal defender immediately went to ground clutching his face, prompting a frustrated reaction from Neville on commentary.

The incident did not ultimately overshadow an excellent defensive performance from Arsenal, who held on to Kai Havertz’s first-half goal to secure their first league victory at Anfield since 2012.

Neville’s strong criticism of Arsenal star Gabriel

As reported by Metro, Neville felt Gabriel had let himself down despite otherwise being a player he greatly admires.

The former Manchester United defender said: “He does let himself down at times.”

Neville added: “I love his fire, his passion and his tenacity. But there’s a push into his upper chest and he goes down holding his face.”

He then delivered an even stronger verdict: “It’s absolutely embarrassing. He needs to stop doing that.”

Gabriel’s reaction came during a game already filled with debate over players exaggerating contact.

Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister was also criticised later in the match after going down theatrically following a confrontation with Noni Madueke.

The contrast was particularly striking because Gabriel otherwise played a major role in Arsenal’s defensive effort. Liverpool pushed hard for an equaliser, particularly after falling behind, but Arsenal repeatedly dealt with crosses and pressure around their penalty area.

Neville’s criticism is fair despite Gabriel’s brilliant performance

Neville’s point is difficult to argue with.

Gabriel’s aggression and emotional intensity are important parts of what make him such an effective defender. Arsenal would not want him to lose that edge.

But exaggerating contact is different. Going down holding the face when the contact clearly came higher up the chest only invites criticism and can damage a player’s credibility when a genuinely serious incident occurs later.

The frustrating part is that Gabriel did not need to do it. He was part of a superb Arsenal defensive performance that helped secure one of their biggest results of the season. That should have been the main talking point around him.

Instead, his reaction gave Neville an easy reason to criticise him.

Gabriel remains one of Arsenal’s defensive leaders, but Neville is right that moments like this should be removed from his game.