Arsenal’s transformation from a side struggling to qualify for the Europa League to genuine title contenders under Mikel Arteta has been remarkable.
Mikel Arteta took over from Unai Emery with the club languishing in mid table and a squad that was bloated with high wages and not enough desire to compete for major honours.
Since then, Arteta has built a young team that are hungry for success and now just need the finishing touches of a striker – Arsenal have enquired about Jhon Duran in recent weeks.
The Gunners have the joint-best defence in the Premier League this season and a partnership struck up between William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes is vastly becoming the envy of world football.
Saliba has been opening up on his relationship with the central defensive partner and the secret to their success that has seen them make Arsenal a stubborn and resilient outfit.
READ MORE: Arsenal make Myles Lewis-Skelly appeal decision to PGMOL after red card call against Wolves
William Saliba reveals good relationship on and off the pitch with Gabriel Magalhaes
Speaking to the Official Arsenal Website, French international Saliba has been opening up on his relationship with fellow defender Gabriel.
Saliba stated: “He’s like a brother to me we’re very close. As I always say to him, it’s as if he were French too, he has the same facial expressions as a French person because he was at Lille for a long time He’s a great guy and an incredible defender.”
Both defenders have been crucial to Arsenal once again this season, the pair have been involved in ten clean sheets in all competitions whilst being the centre back pairing.
Fans were delighted that Gabriel was named captain against Wolves and Saliba has also shown his worth in the opposition box, scoring against Manchester United and Fulham in consecutive matches.
Saliba also reveals his thoughts on this Arsenal team and what they need to achieve
Saliba supported Arsenal as a young boy and has fulfilled his dream by representing the club 114 times since his debut in 2022.
When asked about his career aspirations and where he thinks the Gunners are heading as a team, Saliba gave a resounding response.
He stated: “It’s been a long journey and I’m very proud of myself but I want to achieve more, everything is going well but the only thing missing is lifting major trophies, this is how people remember you even 20 years later.”
Arsenal can take a step towards one of those trophies with a point in Girona to secure their automatic passage to the last-16 of the Champions League and remain in the hunt for an elusive Premier League title.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
