Arsenal ace Gabriel Magalhaes insists his partnership with William Saliba is only getting better - after admitting how difficult he found it without him at the end of last season.
The Gunners boast the best defence in the Premier League this term, conceding just 26 goals all campaign. Title rivals Manchester City and Liverpool have both shipped 32 apiece, with the former having played one game less.
Gabriel and Saliba have undoubtedly been two of Arsenal's stand-out players as the Gunners look to go one better than last season. The back end of 2022-23 saw Arteta's men fall apart in spectacular fashion, leading the table by eight points in mid-March, only to finish five points behind eventual champions City.
A key factor in Arsenal's late demise was an injury sustained by France international Saliba that ruled him out for the remainder of the campaign. Gabriel has shed light on the impact that had and how much training has gone into their partnership to reach the level they are currently operating at.
"It was difficult for us [when Saliba got injured] because we were playing every match together, and of course things change when other players come in," the Brazil international told TNT Sport. "For example Jakub [Kiwior] came in, he’s a left-sided defender and he came in on the right side.
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"It was a bit difficult for him, but that’s gone now. We know we’re good and we must continue like that. We’ve got five games left [in the league] and we must continue together all season, because if we win those five matches, there are great things to come."
Pressed for comment on how his relationship with Saliba has progressed since last term, Gabriel added: "Last season it was our first one together. Already it was good, we understand each other very well on the pitch.
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William Saliba and Gabriel are arguably the best centre-back pairing in the Premier League"This year I was sure that if we have people together it will go better, because we work a lot, we talk a lot, so that helps us. I think that this year, we also have a lot of confidence. We each have confidence in each other, confidence in any player that plays. So that’s good for us.
"Last season we were already good. William got injured, but we were good and we spoke a lot among ourselves. This year we are good even if we change our left back [or other positions]."
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