‘Monster’… William Saliba has new nickname for £27m Arsenal teammate after Sporting CP win

Add as preferred source on Google

Arsenal defender William Saliba was certainly one of those who impressed during a quite brilliant 5-1 away win in the Champions League.

Mikel Arteta’s side dispatched Sporting CP without too much difficulty in what proved to be a relatively straight forward test for Arsenal.

With Martin Odegaard back in the side, the Gunners started brilliantly in Lisbon, with their majestic captain at the heart of a lot of their good work.

Odegaard has returned in exceptional condition and has evidently rejuvenated those around him, who suddenly look a lot more confident and assured.

In truth, it’s become clear that Arsenal simply aren’t the same team without either Odegaard or Bukayo Saka, two talents who define Arteta’s project.

William Saliba shares his new nickname for Gabriel Magalhaes

Of course, one of the most consistent performers for Arteta has always been Gabriel Magalhaes, who has also led by example this season.

Arsenal paid £27m for Gabriel back in 2020, an absolute bargain judging by his performances over the past few campaigns.

READ MORE: What Portugal’s media honestly felt about Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka after watching him vs Sporting

The Brazilian powered home a header to put Arsenal 3-0 up in Portugal on Tuesday evening, the point in which it felt like the home side were done and dusted.

After scoring, Gabriel copied Viktor Gyokeres’ celebration, a moment he later shared on his Instagram when celebrating the win.

The defender uploaded five photos from the 5-1 win alongside a caption of, “Amazing energy from the team and our supporters!! On to the next!!”

And as well as a response from Brazilian teammate Vinicius Junior, Saliba also shared his praise, hailing Gabriel as a ‘monstro’, translated to ‘monster’ in English.

Saliba reaches his 100th appearance for Arsenal

On a personal note, 23-year-old Saliba reached 100 appearances for Arsenal on Tuesday evening.

In those games, the Frenchman has won 65 times, with only four players in Arsenal’s history registering more wins in their first 100 games for the club.

In that regard, Nacho Monreal leads the way, who enjoyed a lot of success under Arsene Wenger.

Of this current squad, Ben White is the only other name on the list, who won 62 times in the same period when Arsenal have been excellent under Arteta.

A brilliant night for the Gunners, and they’ll be determined to continue their away form at West Ham United on Saturday.