William Saliba has become one of the finest centre-backs in the world during his time at Arsenal and in the future, the Frenchman could very well be considered the undisputed best the game has to offer.
Since returning from his loan stint at Marseille, the 24-year-old has not looked back and has gone from strength to strength at Arsenal.
William Saliba is as complete as one can be as a central defender, as the Gunners colossus is a masterful reader of the game, a tough tackler, extremely athletic and composed with the ball at his feet.
Arsenal have offered Saliba a new contract as they understand the importance of tying him down to a long-term deal as Real Madrid are keen to sign him.
Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images
Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images
Gilberto Silva says Gabriel Magalhaes makes William Saliba a “better player”
Arsenal legend Gilberto Silva had his say on Saliba as a player, having played with legendary centre-backs like Martin Keown and Sol Campbell during his time at Highbury.
Unsurprisingly, the Brazilian admires Saliba, who even Sol Campbell called “amazing.”
However, Gilberto Silva told the From My Left podcast that Gabriel Magalhaes makes him a better player: “He’s a rock. I like him very much, I think he improved a lot from the first season when he came to Arsenal. When I see him, he’s very solid.”
“Listen, I love Saliba but I think when he plays, he makes Saliba a better player.”
Gilberto Silva acknowledged that Saliba is improving £27 million (Guardian) man Gabriel’s game as well, saying: “Both [players improve each other], Saliba is making him a better player, a good combination.”
Saliba referred to Gabriel as “incredible” and the 48-year-old admitted that the pair share similarities to Arsenal’s centre-back duo of Sol Campbell and Kolo Toure from the ‘Invincibles’ season.
“It’s very similar, Campbell got a lot more experience to handle the situation. Both of them, they have more or less same age, I guess, Gabriel and Saliba. I think one helps the other, when you see the pair play with each other, you feel comfortable.”
William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes stats compared
Both Saliba and Gabriel will be honoured that an Arsenal legend like Gilberto Silva holds them in such high regard.
Both players have a case of being considered world-class and the stats show how they truly compare to each other.
STATS PER 90 WILLIAM SALIBA GABRIEL MAGALHAES
BLOCKS 0.74 1.48
AERIALS WON 1.74 2.27
INTERCEPTIONS 0.69 0.63
PROGRESSIVE PASSES 3.8 4.61
PROGRESSIVE CARRIES 0.45 0.37
via FbRef over the past 365 days
Based on the metrics, Gabriel has the edge on Saliba in every regard barring the progressive carries (0.27 as compared to 0.45) and interceptions (0.63 as compared to 0.69) he has made per game over the past year.
However, Mikel Arteta will be most content about the fact that as a duo, they complement each other perfectly.