Garth Crooks was impressed by what he saw from Arsenal centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes against West Ham United.
Gabriel Magalhaes got on the scoresheet for Arsenal on Sunday, as the Gunners cruised to a 6-0 win at the London Stadium.
The Brazilian defender nodded home Arsenal’s third goal of the afternoon, as he met with Declan Rice’s delivery into the box.
Whilst he wasn’t overly-tested defensively in this match, the 26-year-old did remain focused until the very end, as he snuffed out a late West Ham chance with a vital block to ensure that Mikel Arteta’s side preserved their clean sheet.
Gabriel, alongside William Saliba in the heart of the Arsenal defence, has been in exceptional form all season. Largely thanks to the consistency and quality of this partnership, the Gunners currently boast the best defensive record in the Premier League, having only conceded only 22 times after 24 matches so far this season.
Across their last two matches combined, against West Ham and league leaders Liverpool, Arsenal have only faced two shots on target. This is down, in huge part, to the work that Gabriel and Saliba do in breaking up opposition attacks before the ball arrives in a good shooting position. The pair are both strong in the air, positionally exceptional, and willing to put their bodes on the line for the good of the Arsenal cause. Gabriel was especially dominant against Liverpool.
What’s more, both players ought to still have their best years ahead of them, and will only improve with further experience. Arteta will be hoping that Saliba and Gabriel can remain as a partnership in the heart of the Arsenal defence for many years to come.
Garth Crooks hails Gabriel Magalhaes but takes swipe at Arsenal title hopes
BBC pundit and former Tottenham Hotspur star Garth Crooks included both Gabriel and Saliba in his Team of the Week column after their outing at the London Stadium. On the subject of Gabriel, he said, “I thought he was outstanding the previous week against Liverpool and his performance against West Ham was just as impressive. It was Gabriel’s 150th competitive match for the Gunners and the Brazilian is looking impressively commanding and far less likely to give a penalty away or silly free-kicks on the edge of his own box. He has always been an asset on set-pieces because he attacks the ball so well, which he suitably demonstrated when he scored Arsenal’s third goal of Sunday’s game while protecting an impressive clean sheet.”
“He has forged a formidable defensive partnership with William Saliba, which is not too dissimilar to Kolo Toure and Sol Campbell who were part of the ‘Invincibles’. Although I don’t see Premier League titles on the horizon any time soon.”
Comparisons with the Invincibles suggest a bright future for Arsenal with Saliba and Gabriel at the back, yet Crooks does not think the north London club have what it takes to come out on top this season.
Despite Crooks’ skepticism, Arsenal will feel that they stand a strong chance of winning the Premier League title this season. Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville is backing Arsenal to be crowned champions.
If the Gunners are to achieve that feat, though, then they will need both Gabriel and Saliba to remain fit and in form. Losing the Frenchman to injury ahead of the run-in last season sparked the collapse of Arsenal’s title push on that occasion.
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