Former Arsenal star Kevin Campbell has praised Gabriel Magalhaes as he appears to be the perfect partner for William Saliba.
There has been much anticipation for young French defender Saliba this season, and rightly so too after his excellent form since returning from loan spell at Marseille.
Still, Gabriel has just signed a new contract at the Emirates Stadium and deserves praise too, with Campbell impressed with the Brazilian’s aggressive style in defence.
Saliba, on the other hand, has been praised for being more calm and collected with his style of play, but it seems clear that the two work very well together in Mikel Arteta’s side.
Speaking to the Metro about the couple, Campbell said: “Saliba is the calm and collected cleaner who cleans for others, but there has to be an aggressor by his side.
“Having two ‘passive’ centre-backs is a striker’s dream! Gabriel is the type of defense that strikers don’t like to play against.
“You need one of those centre-backs to be the one to go to the forwards and clash essentially and that’s what we have in Gabriel.”
He added: “I am a big fan of Gabriel, I think he is committed to what the club is doing, and the numbers suggest he is having a very good season so far.
Arsenal fans will be delighted with the progress Gabriel has made since joining the club two years ago from Lille.
As Fabrizio Romano revealed in his exclusive CaughtOffside column today, Manchester United and Napoli were also looking for the 24-year-old at the time, but Arsenal went to great lengths to convince him to join.
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“I was told that two clubs approached Gabriel Magalhaes’ agents in July, and Juventus was one of them for sure,” Romano said.
“Arsenal decided to keep him as a key player for the present and the future.
“Napoli were pushing harder than Man United for Gabriel in 2020, but Arsenal’s insistence made the difference.”
