Former Liverpool defender names Arsenal star as 'the most underrated player in the Premier League'

Former Liverpool defender Jose Enrique has dubbed Arsenal centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes 'the most underrated player in the Premier League'.

The Brazilian has played a crucial part in the Gunners' title charge this season, helping keep the second most clean sheets in the league.

Gabriel was prone to the occasional error in an Arsenal shirt at the start of the campaign, making erratic decisions in and around the penalty area.

However, the 25-year-old has cut out the mistakes lately, acting as a calming presence within the league leaders' back four.

As a result, Enrique has labelled him the most underrated player in the entire division.

Replying to a tweet from Sky Sports asking who was the most underrated player in the league, the ex-Liverpool full-back tweeted:

"Gabriel Magalhaes from arsenal. Everyone is talking about Saliba because he is younger etc but Gabriel has been the best centre-back in the league and he is still 25.

“But it is true that there are many options out there like [Kaoru] Mitoma, James Ward[-Prowse], [Gabriel] Martinelli and many more.”

Gabriel's place in jeopardy

However, Gabriel may be forced to fight for his place in the wake of Jakub Kiwior's arrival at the Emirates.

Mikel Arteta signed the Polish defender from Italian side Spezia to provide competition for Gabriel, believing he could 'redefine' the way Arsenal play.

Speaking to the club's official website, the Gunners boss said: "With Jakub, he is a young talent with incredible potential that is going to help redefine our way of playing, and we didn’t have a backup centre-back for the whole season, and with Jorginho, he is a player that speaks for himself."

"When you look at his CV, his playing record, his quality – I think we’ve made some really good decisions there.”

High praise indeed, but Kiwior has the approval of some big names.

Fellow Poland team mate Robert Lewandowski labelled the player “extraordinary” when he first teamed up with the international squad.

In September last year, Sempre Milan quoted Lewandowski as saying: “I noticed [Kiwior] in the warm-up before the game and wondered who he was.

“Then, I saw him in the game and I realised that he is an extraordinary player. He has enormous potential.”

Topics: Jose Enrique, Liverpool, Gabriel Magalhaes, Arsenal, Mikel Arteta, Premier League, Football

Joe Adams

Joe is a Journalist for SPORTbible with a primary focus on football. He has previously covered a number of other sports including boxing, rugby and F1. Wishes he was born left-footed.

@joeadamsjourno