Former Manchester City defender Micah Richard believes Arsenal’s defenders Gabriel and William Saliba are currently the best centre-back pairings in the Premier League.
Last season, Arsenal were the Premier League team most associated with diligent defensive displays.
That solidity was built on the back of the Gabriel and Saliba pairing, with the two centre-backs helping the Gunners to concede just 29 league goals in 2023/24.
This record has seen them often hailed as the best current centre-back partnership in England’s top flight.
And that’s exactly the question that was posed to Gary Lineker, Micah Richards and Alan Shearer on the latest episode of The Rest Is Football. Who is the best pairing right now?
“I would say Saliba and Gabriel because they’ve been doing it for a couple of seasons now.”
“I think Konate’s been in and out. He had Matip, then he had Quansah, then he had Gomez alongside Van Dijk. So, in terms of consistency I would go with Arsenal, Saliba and Gabriel.”
However, Shearer disagreed, claiming that Ibrahima Konate and Virgil Van Dijk get the nod for him.
“Those two are a major part of what Liverpool are doing there,” said the Newcastle legend.
“They’re really solid, they’re strong, they’re quick, they can read the game. So, those two for me closely followed by Gabriel and Saliba.”
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