The Brazilian defender was ambushed at his residence in Barnet after returning from a night out in the summer

CCTV footage has been released revealing the harrowing moment that Arsenal star Gabriel was confronted by baseball bat-wielding robbers at his home in August.

Gabriel was ambushed when returning to his residence in Barnet, London after a night out in his car alongside Arsenal team-mate Nuno Tavares.

One of the attackers, Abderaham Muse, was given a five-year prison sentence in court last month, and the surveillance footage shown during the hearing from the Metropolitan Police has now been released to the public.

What happened?
Two masked men can be seen approaching Gabriel after he steps out of his vehicle and into his garage, one of which was holding a baseball bat.

The Arsenal defender initially held his hands in the air and removed his watch, but reacted quickly to jab the intruder in the face after he lunged forward to try and strike him with the bat.

Gabriel then attempted to grab Muse’s arm before he and his accomplice fled the scene, but his hat fell off in the process which allowed police to identify him via DNA.

What’s been said?
As reported by The Daily Mail, case prosecutor Martin Lewis delivered a statement to Harrow Crown Court summing up the ordeal for Gabriel and Tavares.

“No injuries were suffered but a great deal of shock was caused,” said Lewis. “They happened to pick on two victims who were very fit and able to look after themselves.”

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has addressed the incident in his latest press conference, praising Gabriel for his “character” before explaining how the club has helped him to move on from the experience.

“Obviously it is not a nice thing to go through when you have family involved and they are trying to access your house,” said Arteta.
“Gabi showed a lot of character. You see the reaction he had straight away. Credit to the boy and after that he was fine.

“Obviously he was shocked and there were a few things he wanted to change in his life to prevent those things happening and the club gave him all the support that was needed to forget about the situation, learn from it and move on.”