Tim Sherwood thinks Arsenal have a player who’s better than Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka

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Tim Sherwood has been discussing Arsenal’s Premier League title hopes this season and has named the player he thinks could be key to helping them go the distance.

The Gunners will be hoping to at least maintain their four-point lead at the top of the table this weekend when they face Tottenham in the North London derby.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	ArsenalArsenal	11	8	2	1	20	5	15	26
2	Manchester CityManchester City	11	7	1	3	23	8	15	22

Ahead of the international break, Mikel Arteta’s team dropped points away at Sunderland, and now they will be looking to return to winning ways this Sunday.

Looking ahead to the clash, Tim Sherwood has given his take on Arsenal’s chances and has been speaking about the North London club’s top performer.

Tim Sherwood names Gabriel Magalhaes as Arsenal’s best player

Unsurprisingly, Sherwood thinks William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes are the best defensive partnership in the Premier League.

The former Tottenham boss was confident Arsenal would go on to win the Premier League with that duo in defence, but now, he is worried for the Gunners ahead of the derby.

That is because Gabriel’s injury is predicted to sideline him for a couple of weeks, meaning he is almost certain to be unavailable for the clash at the Emirates Stadium.

Speaking about Gabriel’s injury, Sherwood told Sky Sports: “I would say their best player, most instrumental player this season. Leadership quality heading into a North London derby this weekend. There is no bigger game.

“Arsenal are flying high at the top of the league. You need your players, him and Saliba, for me, are the best centre-half partnership in the league at the moment.

“It looked like they were going to go on to win the title with a solid base. Yes, they’ve conceded two goals against Sunderland.

“It’s a very emotional game at the weekend. Tottenham are going there to derail their season. Don’t worry about that. They’re going to try their best to be able to do that. So it’s a huge blow for Arsenal and for Mikel Arteta.”

Arsenal’s improved squad depth this season means that Arteta’s squad has been well-prepared for an injury like this, with Jurrien Timber, Cristhian Mosquera and Piero Hincapie ready to step in.

William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes are head and shoulders above Romero and Van de Ven

There is no debate that Saliba and Gabriel are head and shoulders above Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven when looking at their record.

The Arsenal duo have such a strong Premier League record together, averaging just 0.78 goals against per game. Meanwhile, Van de Ven and Romero are at 1.36 goals against per game.

Saliba will now need to ensure that either Mosquera or Hincapie are capable of stepping up to match the 27-year-old’s ability on the pitch.

The Brazilian international is a huge loss for the Gunners, but this is exactly why Andrea Berta moved to bring in two new defenders over the summer.