Ivan Toney continues war of words with Arsenal after 'cringey' Gabriel remark

Brentford striker has been called up to England's squad for their Nations League clashes with Italy and Germany but has responded to comments by a rival Premier League player

Posted Wednesday, September 21, 2022 by Dailystar.co.uk

Ivan Toney has hit back in his war of words with Arsenal on social media after accusing rival Gabriel of embarrassing himself.

England newcomer Toney was mocked by the defender and Arsenal supporters on Twitter last weekend in the wake of Brentford's 3-0 home defeat to Mikel Arteta's men.

Gabriel rubbed salt into Toney's wounds when he tweeted after the game: "Nice kick about with the boys."

The tweet was a nod to the striker's cheeky "nice kick about with the boys" message he posted on the site after Brentford inflicted a humbling 2-0 defeat over Arsenal on the opening day of last season.

The post was later used as ammunition in a team talk by Arteta ahead of Arsenal's return meeting with Brentford in February.

The Spanish boss told his players to go and "f***ing win", which they did. This lead to then Arsenal star Alexander Lacazette posting the same message as Toney had done in a bid to wind up the 26-year-old.

Toney admits the Frenchman's tweet was acceptable, but has branded Gabriel's decision to repeat it a second time 'cringey'.

Toney, who is hoping to make his England debut in the upcoming Nations League games with Italy and Germany, said: "I think once was funny, but second time it's a bit cringey.

"But I bit my tongue. I wanted to reply, I wanted to nibble, but fair play to them they played very well.

"They are a different Arsenal side to what we played before and they played very well. Fair play to them, they are doing well."