Arsenal take on Fulham at Craven Cottage on Saturday afternoon, and Marco Silva has heaped praise on Mikel Arteta’s team ahead of the clash.
The Gunners sit at the summit of the Premier League table after seven matches, having enjoyed an impressive start to the new campaign.
Meanwhile, the Cottagers have endured a more challenging start to the season, losing their last two matches 3-1, although they are unbeaten on home soil.
Arteta’s side travel to West London with Tuesday night’s huge Champions League encounter against Atletico Madrid in mind, and thus, the Spaniard needs to ensure his players are fully focused on the task at hand in SW6.
Marco Silva says Arsenal have the best centre-back partnership in world football
Arsenal’s squad is now comfortably among the best in the world.
The Gunners have an array of talented options in every single position, and they’re subsequently favourites to win the Premier League and among the favourites for the Champions League.
At the heart of the North Londoners’ team are their imperious centre-backs. William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes have formed a formidable partnership in recent years, which has helped Arsenal establish themselves as the best defensive team in the world.
Speaking to the media ahead of the game between the Gunners and Fulham on Saturday, the Cottagers’ boss Silva claimed that Saliba and Gabriel’s partnership is the best on the planet.
“It’s not a surprise for anyone how solid they are,” he said.
“Probably with the one of the best partnerships in terms of central defenders in the Premier League and probably in Europe and the quality around the place in their squad. But, I think it’s not new.
“Last season they were very strong as well, two seasons ago and the reality is that recently we have been very tough to play against for Arsenal. We want to do the same even with all those absences, all those injuries that we have.”
Arsenal have several players who are among the best in their position in the world
Silva is right; Saliba and Gabriel’s partnership is the best in the world.
In their own right, the two defenders are also arguably among the three or four best centre-backs in Europe, alongside Virgil van Dijk.
David Raya is now almost certainly in the elite bracket of goalkeepers, with only the likes of Alisson Becker and Thibaut Courtois definitely at or above his level.
Meanwhile, Jurrien Timber has recently been elevated into the conversation for the best right-backs, and few could argue with that. Only Achraf Hakimi and Trent Alexander-Arnold are in his bracket.
Further up the pitch, Mohamed Salah’s dubious form this season can certainly elicit a reasonable conversation about whether Bukayo Saka has usurped him, while few central midfielders can offer what Declan Rice offers.
Finally, at his best, Martin Odegaard is one of the most talented and complete playmakers on the planet, without question.
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