“Saliba is somewhere else but I adore Gabriel” - Arsenal legend shares interesting verdict on Gunners’ center-back duo

Arsenal legend Ian Wright has said that he 'adores' Gabriel Magalhaes even though William Saliba is at a different level in terms of ability.

Wright also added that Gabriel wasn't worried when he wasn't being picked in the team. He was left on the bench for the Gunners' first three league games of the season, with Mikel Arteta preferring Ben White at center-back.

Arteta experimented with Thomas Partey as an inverted right-back but that plan was abandoned after the Ghana international's groin injury. Gabriel has recaptured his spot in Arteta's XI and has made 16 starts across competitions already this season.

Speaking about the 25-year-old center-back, Wright said on his podcast, Wrighty’s House (h/t HITC):

"I have to say, I love the lads but Gabriel Magalhaes is a player, I adore him. Saliba is somewhere else but I adore Gabriel. I remember we were doing an Adidas shoot and he was there, it was just at the start of the season where, for some reason, he wasn’t in the team, which is something no one has cleared up to me, he wasn’t being picked...

"...I don’t know what was going on, he wasn’t injured, that was a worrying time for me. I remember saying something to him, but he gave me a look to say ‘it’s fine, everything is fine'."

In 18 appearances this term, the Brazil international has helped his team keep eight clean sheets. Saliba, meanwhile, continues to be one of the first names on Arsenal's team sheet, and the Frenchman has been playing some of his best football in recent months.

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Pundit believe Arsenal's center-back duo make them one of the favorites for Premier League title

Former Premier League star Rio Ferdinand believes that Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba's partnership makes Arsenal a strong contender for the Premier League title.

The Gunners went top of the table on Saturday (25 November) after securing a late 1-0 win over Brentford. They now have 30 points from 13 matches, leading Manchester City by one point and Liverpool by two.

Ferdinand believes the Gunners are 'ahead' of the Reds in terms of being title challengers because of Gabriel and Saliba's pairing. He said on TNT Sports (h/t Eurosport):

"The two centre-backs, they'll be the reason why I would put them ahead of Liverpool in the title race to challenge someone like Manchester City, because you can trust those two implicitly at the moment."

It is worth mentioning that Saliba's injury coincided with Arsenal's dreadful form at the tail end of last season, which led to Manchester City winning the league. Arsenal won just three of their last nine games that season, with the Frenchman missing all of them.