Kevin Campbell has heaped praise on Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes and has suggested that he never gets the credit he deserves.
The Brazilian is one of our most important players. He has been incredible for us over the years, but for one reason or another, rival fans, most pundits and the media tend to ignore him. Former Arsenal striker Campbell, luckily, is not like those people.
Kevin Campbell praises Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes
Whenever anybody talks about Arsenal’s defence, the first name out of their mouths is William Saliba.
The Frenchman is arguably the best centre-back in the Premier League, and every bit of praise he gets is completely deserved. However, that doesn’t mean Gabriel Magalhaes should be ignored.
The Brazilian, in our opinion, is one of the best central defenders in the Premier League. He has been amazing for us and he played a big part in helping Saliba adapt.
Campbell had his say on Gabriel, and he raved about him. He thinks the former Lille man may just be our third-best player this season.
When asked to name his Arsenal Player of the Season, he said on Highbury Squad: “I would say Declan Rice, but he’s followed up very closely behind by Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes.
“Gabriel didn’t start for a couple of games but he has been a colossus back there. Listen, I know Saliba gets the headlines but with Gabriel… we’ve seen our team with Ben White and Saliba and we still looked good. But against the best teams, Gabriel has to play.
“We needed Gabriel to come on in some of those early games, didn’t we? Just to get us over the line a little bit. I just think Gabriel is that aggressive centre-half, the fighter. Saliba is the clean-up man, he’ll just clean up everything. He’s big and physical but he’s the reader.
“Gabriel is our guy. He’s the one who triggers everything and we really need him.”
Gabriel deserves more respect
Gabriel joined Arsenal back in the summer of 2020 and the way he developed over the last three years has been nothing short of incredible.
The 25-year-old is up there with the very best defenders in the Premier League. Yes, he doesn’t look as elegant as Saliba does, but he’s still effective.
Arsenal look the best when Saliba and Gabriel start together at the back. They are capable of shutting down any attack in the country – just ask Erling Haaland how his evening was when he came up against them.
Arsenal fans already know just how good Gabriel us. Now, it’s time for the others to stand up and take note of the Brazi international.
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