William Saliba and Gabriel have been tipped to become Premier League legends after their defensive display saw Arsenal shut out Spurs during the North London derby on Sunday.
Tottenham managed 15 shots during the game but none troubled Arsenal keeper David Raya as Saliba and Gabriel were magnificent on the day. Gabriel capped a man of the match performance with a goal to seal all three points at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium.
Former Aston Villa player Nigel Reo-Coker believes the partnership may be one of the best in the Premier League. Gabriel was signed from Lille in Ligue 1 back in 2020, while Saliba was recruited from Saint-Etienne in 2019.
What Reo-Coker has said about William Saliba and Gabriel
Nigel Reo-Coker made over a 100 Premier League appearances for Aston Villa back in the day. He believes the Arsenal duo have the potential to become some of the best defenders the league has ever seen:
“The defence solidarity of Saliba and Gabriel is just sensational,” Reo-Coker said on the BBC Radio 5 Live Football Daily Podcast. “What I love about watching them is that they love to defend and the art of defending is what their foundations are built off.
“They are not the modern-day players we get now who want to get the ball down and want to play football – they want to do the basic job of defending. They love blocks and tackles, and they celebrate with each other like they have just won the game. It is great to see.
“The reason we give them so much praise is because they’re doing the art of the job that is dying. They could be on their way to becoming Premier League legends in terms of the best defenders we’ve seen.”
Arsenal have conceded just one Premier League goal this season when the two have been on the pitch.
Mikel Arteta lauds Man of the Match performance
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was pleased with Gabriel on Sunday, and praised the defender for being key to the derby win:
“He obviously knows what it means and it’s going to go there in the history of these matches and he’s been superb.
“When a centre back has the capacity to do first his role in the manner that he does it and then adds goals to win football matches, then you’re talking about something else.”
Gabriel’s teammate and countryman Gabriel Martinelli also praised the performance as Arsenal sealed a crucial three points ahead of facing Manchester City next weekend:
“Just a little bit – we have different players; no-one plays the same way and we have to adjust. We did really well today, and I think we deserved the victory.
“[Big Gabi] is really happy, he deserved that. He’s a guy that deserves everything that he’s been achieving, so happy with him, the performance and his goal.”
Arsenal are just two points behind the league leaders, and Mikel Arteta believes that the performance against Spurs is something they can build on next weekend.
