BBC Sport pundit Nedum Onuoha has said two Arsenal stars have now formed a ‘super aggressive’ partnership in Mikel Arteta’s side.
The Gunners have endured one of their best season ever in the Premier League, with Arsenal breaking the club record for the most wins in the division, beating even that of the 2003/04 Invincibles side.
With the Premier League title set to go down to the final game of the season, Arsenal will want to end the year on the biggest of highs with their first championship in 20 years, with Manchester City having a game in hand.
And Onuoha has suggested that one Arsenal partnership has been key to this season’s success.
Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba praised for Arsenal partnership
Speaking on Planet Premier League, the former City defender was full of praise for Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba’s partnership for Arsenal, which this season has gone up another level.
The centre-back pairing have been responsible for David Raya winning the Premier League Golden Glove award, and Gabriel and Saliba have proved that they could be Arsenal’s starting defensive duo for many years to come.
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Onuoha said on Gabriel and Saliba’s partnership: “They work really well together. I think from Gabriel’s left-side, the fact they’ve had Kiwior in there, Zinchenko, Tomiyasu, he’s not had that link as such, but these two [Gabriel and Saliba], you can see the confidence in each other.
“They’re super aggressive, but they know they can be aggressive because they’ve got cover, they don’t do things as individuals. They’ve got good size, good speed, a good reading of the game. They’ve been really good, robust as well, availability is sometimes the best ability, and when you form that partnership, they’re going to have seasons like the one they just had.”
No centre-back pairing in Europe comes close to Gabriel and Saliba
It’s been some time since Arsenal had a truly strong defensive pairing, yet Gabriel and Saliba are providing that and then some for the Gunners this season.
Not only have the duo kept the most clean sheets out of any defence in the Premier League this season, a real case can be made that Gabriel and Saliba are the current best centre-back pairing in all of Europe.
Indeed, the duo have everything you would want from two defenders at the heart of the backline, and Gabriel and Saliba are also young enough where they can even become better than they currently are in the years to come.