Former Arsenal star Kevin Campbell has heaped praise onto Gabriel Magalhaes as he looks to be the perfect partner for William Saliba.
There’s been plenty of hype about young French defender Saliba this season, and justifiably so too after his fine form since returning from his loan spell at Marseille.
Still, Gabriel has just signed a new contract at the Emirates Stadium and is also fully deserving of praise, with Campbell impressed with the Brazilian’s aggressive style at the back.
Saliba, by contrast, has been praised as being more cool and composed with his playing style, but it seems clear that the two work together very well in Mikel Arteta’s side.
Speaking to the Metro about the pair, Campbell said: “Saliba is the cool, calm and collected one who cleans up for others, but there has to be an aggressor next to him.
“Having two “passive” centre backs is a forward’s dream! Gabriel is the kind of defender forwards don’t like playing against.
“You need one of those centre backs to be the one who goes into forwards and butt heads essentially and that’s what we’ve got in Gabriel.”
He added: “I’m a big fan of Gabriel, I think he’s committed to what the club are doing, and the numbers suggest he’s having a very good season so far.”
Arsenal fans will be delighted with the progress Gabriel has made since he joined the club two years ago from Lille.
As revealed by Fabrizio Romano in his exclusive CaughtOffside column today, the 24-year-old was also wanted by Manchester United and Napoli at the time, but Arsenal went all out to convince him to join.
“I’m told two clubs approached Gabriel Magalhaes’ agents in July, and Juventus were one of them for sure,” Romano said.
“Arsenal decided to keep him as key player for present and future.
“Napoli were pushing more than Man United for Gabriel in 2020, but Arsenal’s insistence made the difference.”