Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has commended Arsenal defenders William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes following yesterday’s 1-0 victory over Brentford.
With Manchester City drawing 1-1 with Liverpool earlier in the day, Arsenal had the opportunity to go top if they secured a win, which they did thanks to a late Kai Havertz winner.
Kai Havertz, coming off the bench in the dying moments of the game, made an instant impact by heading home a Bukayo Saka cross, securing all three points for Arsenal.
After the match, Rio Ferdinand praised Mikel Arteta’s defensive duo, specifically highlighting the performances of center-backs Saliba and Gabriel.
Speaking about the pair on TNT Sports, via football.london, Ferdinand expressed his admiration for their contributions to the team, “me and [Peter] Crouchy were sitting here thinking about how good these two are, they want to be aggressive, they want to defend with that high line.”
“They have the best defensive record in the league at the moment and Declan Rice is perfect in front of them in the middle at the moment,” he added.
The Gunners have conceded ten goals this season and have only lost once, thanks to a solid defensive structure in Gabriel and Saliba. This is why Rio Ferdinand has stated that “they’re the reason why I put them above Liverpool in the title race.”