France-based football writer Matt Spiro was recently a guest on the Arsecast and during the podcast, he discussed Arsenal centre-back William Saliba, as well as Brazilian centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes, who is said to be close to completing a move to North London.
The Gunners signed Saliba from Saint-Etienne last summer in a deal reportedly worth £27m (as per Transfermarkt.co.uk) but the 19-year-old spent the 2019/20 campaign back on loan with the Ligue 1 side.
Gabriel is yet to put pen-to-paper at the Emirates Stadium but Spiro spent some time discussing the pair of defenders during this recent edition of the Arsenal-focused podcast, here is what he had to say:
“If Gabriel comes as well, I think we’re getting two proper defenders. I’d say that with more confidence about Saliba than with Gabriel. I’ve got no reason to think Gabriel would be a poor signing, it’s just that I’ve not seen as much of him and he’s not a guy who has stood out as much as Saliba.”
The writer is clearly more excited about the prospect of seeing Saliba playing in the Arsenal team next season and although he insisted he doesn’t believe Gabriel would be a “poor” signing, his comments certainly give a positive impression of teenager Saliba, especially given that he made his Ligue 1 debut nearly 18 months after Gabriel – three years his senior – had made his own.
Who do you have more confidence in?
Gabriel
Saliba
TIF Thoughts…
Gabriel made 24 appearances in the French top-flight last season in a Lille side that managed a very respectable fourth-place finish. In Spiro’s view, the Brazilian didn’t stand out as much as Saliba, however, that doesn’t necessarily mean that he would struggle in the Premier League. In this duo, we believe that we could be looking at the Gunners’ central defensive pairing for seasons to come.