ARSENAL stars Declan Rice and Gabriel were locked in a heated discussion as the Gunners title charge fizzled out.
Mikel Arteta’s men drew a blank as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Nottingham Forest.
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The Gunners started the evening 11 points behind leaders Liverpool in the Premier League standings.
And with an injury crisis rocking the Emirates, Arsenal were forced to employ midfield man Mikel Merino as a false nine.
Riccardo Calafiori smashed the post in the first half at the City Ground.
But the Gunners ultimately failed to break the deadlock and keep pace with Arne Slot’s Reds, who beat Newcastle 2-0 at Anfield.
Rice and Gabriel were spotted trudging off together following the stalemate.
The England midfielder hit the first man with a freekick late in the contest, much to his own frustration.
TNT Sports cameras spotted Rice gesturing and shouting towards the Brazilian centre-back as they left the field.
One fan on X wrote: “Rice and Gabriel in a heated argument.”
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Another said: “Rice talking under his shirt to Gabriel at the end there tells me all I need to know. The dominoes will start falling, next season is this cores last.”
While a third added: “Wheels have come off.”
Arsenal dominated the ball on the night but mustered just one shot on target.
Winger Leandro Trossard told TNT: “We played well today, we were dominant throughout the whole game today.
“But the goals happen in the box. We defended really well but up top we need to create more.
“We are a good group. There’s no magic ingredient, we just need to keep going.
Arsenal ratings vs Forest as NOBODY looks like scoring for Gunners but Saliba’s a Rolls Royce again
MIKEL ARTETA may not have anyone to put the ball in the back of the net but in William Saliba he has one of the best defenders in the Prem.
The Arsenal boss watched his side’s faint title hopes go well and truly up in smoke in the goalless draw with Nottingham Forest.
But his brilliant backline emerged, once again, with credit from this tricky clash at the City Ground.
Together with Gabriel, Saliba kept a tight lid on Forest dangerman Chris Wood, who scored a hat-trick in his last appearance on this ground.
But the fact the Gunners’ biggest threat at the other end of the pitch came from left-back Riccardo Calafiori – who was subbed off at half-time – says it all about the dire situation Arsenal somehow find themselves in.
Here is how SunSport’s Graeme Bryce rated the Gunners stars’ displays…
“You always have to believe but I don’t think we need to look ahead, we just need to keep thinking about the next game.”
And Arteta added: “[We had] unquestionable character, how much wanted it and tried.
“We dominated the game. We tried in many different ways.
“We insisted but lacked that spark, that final pass to unlock a well organised team. We have to generate more shots on target.”