Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is reaping the rewards of finding a rock-solid central-defensive partnership.
William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes have been excellent at the heart of the Gunners’ back four and played a key role in their side’s impressive start to the campaign. Only Everton, with seven, have conceded fewer goals than the eight Arsenal have let in — Brighton and Newcastle are joint-second with them — and that meanness has earned the pair rave reviews.
Saliba, in particular, has been singled out for praise, but Arteta is just as pleased with Gabriel, who arrived from Lille a little more than two years ago and, now aged 24, is much more physically imposing than he was in his first couple of seasons.
