Arsenal Must Win The EPL Or UCL For Saliba And Gabriel To Be Considered Great Defenders – Carragher

Ex-Liverpool defender, Jamie Carragher has come out to hail William Saliba and Gabriel’s partnership at Arsenal. He recently had his say while speaking to the press, and fans have been reacting.

According to him, as long as they stay together and play for many more years, he sees both defenders emulating legendary Premier League centre-back pairings like John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho or Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.

He, however, added that Arsenal must win the Premier League or Champions League for the duo to establish themselves in that hall of fame.

His words, “Provided they stay together, we will eventually reference Saliba and Gabriel in the same breath as the two stand-out partnerships of my generation; Chelsea’s John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho, and Manchester United’s Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.

Arsenal must win the Premier League or Champions League for the duo to establish themselves in that hall of fame, but they are making giant strides and are the biggest reason why Mikel Arteta ’s side can travel to Manchester City with confidence this weekend.

I rank Terry and Carvalho as the Premier League’s No 1. They were the foundation of Jose Mourinho’s brilliant Chelsea side, rewriting the records and redefining what was possible at the highest level by conceding just 15 goals in a Premier League season in 2004-05.

Ferdinand and Vidic closely follow as the ideal duo in a more attacking Manchester United team – the stand-out of the many great defences Sir Alex Ferguson constructed during his reign. What set them apart is they were equals, as opposed to one superior defender carrying the other which is often the case, even in the most celebrated defensive collaborations. Perfect partners complement each other so we do not think of one without the other.”

WOW.

Arsenal Football Club is an English professional football club based in Holloway, North London. Arsenal compete in the Premier League, the top flight of English football.

The club has won 13 league titles (including one unbeaten title), a record 14 FA Cups, two League Cups, 17 FA Community Shields, the Football League Centenary Trophy, one European Cup Winners’ Cup and one Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. In terms of trophies won, it is the third-most successful club in English football.

After conducting an overhaul in the club’s operating model to coincide with Wenger’s departure, Spaniard Unai Emery was named as the club’s new head coach on 23 May 2018. He became the club’s first ever ‘head coach’ and second manager from outside the United Kingdom.

In Emery’s first season, Arsenal finished fifth in the Premier League and as runner-up in the Europa League. On 29 November 2019, Emery was dismissed as manager and former player and assistant first team coach Freddie Ljungberg was appointed as interim head coach. On 20 December 2019, Arsenal appointed former club captain Mikel Arteta as the new head coach. Arsenal finished the league season in eighth, their lowest finish since 1994–95, but beat Chelsea 2–1 to earn a record-extending 14th FA Cup win. After the season. Arteta’s title was changed from head coach to manager.