Arsenal defender Gabriel

Arsenal defender Gabriel was forced to fight off a robber at his north London home after being followed and attacked with a baseball bat.

In CCTV footage obtained by the Daily Mail, the 23-year-old centre-back and a friend are confronted by two men who attempt to steal his Mercedes and his watch.

Abderaham Muse, who has been named as one of the attackers, lunged at the Brazilian with a bat. Gabriel struck him in the face, grabbed his hat and wrestled with him before the attacker eventually ran away.

Muse was jailed for five years last month after police were able to identify him using DNA from the hat. Prosecutor Martin Lewis told Harrow Crown Court: “No injuries were suffered but a great deal of shock was caused. They happened to pick on two victims who were very fit and able to look after themselves.”

Meanwhile, Judge Anupama Thompson told Muse: “While you didn’t specifically target the victim on account of him being a well-known footballer, there was a realisation this person was wealthy and worthy of robbing.

Gabriel joined Arsenal from French side Lille in 2020 for £27 million and has been one of manager Mikel Arteta’s most consistent players.

The Brazilian defender has played 42 times since joining the club and in the last 10 league games for the Gunners, has been part of a defence that has conceded just eight goals.

The incident comes two years after Mesut Ozil and Sead Kolasinac were also targeted by armed robbers, with the latter fighting off the attackers despite being unarmed.

Arsenal defender Gabriel

It was not the first time that an Arsenal star has had to face off against robbers. Two armed men attempted to rob expensive watches from defender Sead Kolasinac, 28, and midfielder Mesut Ozil, 33, in Hampstead, north-west London, in 2019.

However, Kolasinac fought back and was able to jump into a car driven by Ozil. He then drove them from the ambush as the would-be robbers pursued them on a moped. The pair were able to escape, but only after their vehicle sustained damage from stones thrown by their pursuers.