Gabriel speaks about Chapecoense tragedy

We all know about the horrific loss of the Chapecoense team, a few journalists, and others on the plane carrying them that crashed into a Colombian mountainside yesterday. Reaction from the world has been overwhelming, as fans and clubs around the world express their grief and support to a club and a country who have just lost so much.

Arsenal’s only Brazilian player, Gabriel, was asked his thoughts on what happened, and in all honesty, it was hard to watch. To start off, he said:

“It’s a bit hard to talk about what happened...I had many friends over there, and I worked with the coach. We were very close friends, this is very hard to take.”

He then talked about the families:

“The minimum I can do is send my condolences to all their families. It’s not easy to lose a member of the family...I’ve lost a brother and I know how painful it is.”

Towards the end of his remarks, he was clearly struggling to keep it together, and he told a heartbreaking story:

“On my last birthday, I felt this urge to talk to Caio Junior and for some reason, I left it for another day...and then this tragedy happens.”

It was hard to watch the pain he was in when he said that, it’s obvious he and all Brazilians are hurting pretty badly right now. One of the last things he said, though, is what I want to leave you with:

Gabriel’s remarks in full:

My heart and TSF’s go out to Gabriel, to the families of the Chapecoense team and staff, and to everyone who lost someone in the crash.

#ForcaChape