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Topics: Arsenal, Ian Wright, Gabriel Magalhaes
Chris Byfield
Ian Wright admitted that Arsenal centre-back Gabriel Magalhães makes him “nervy”, despite the Gunners’ outstanding defensive record.
Arsenal have stormed the Premier League this season. They currently sit two points clear at the summit after dismantling Nottingham Forest 5-0 on Sunday.
The Gunners' early season success has been largely down to their stubborn defence.
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Nevertheless Arsenal legend Wright admitted that Gabriel makes him “nervy” after the Brazil international performance against Forest.
The centre-back gifted Forest their biggest chance of the game, by misplacing a pass intended for Granit Xhaka into the path of Jesse Lingard.
The 24-year-old’s blushes were ultimately saved by the onrushing Ben White, who put in an outstanding block to prevent the former Manchester United man from scoring.
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While Wright was reluctant to pick out a weak link in the Arsenal team, he admitted that Gabriel does “weird things” at times.
Speaking to Premier League Productions he said: “It looks weird, doesn’t it?
“That is the only thing, for me, if you are going to be critical of Arsenal’s defence, then you would probably say it’s with someone like Gabriel.
“He does things which just make you a little nervy and that was another one.”
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The centre-back combination of Gabriel and William Saliba has helped the north Londoners to eight clean sheets in all competitions, while they have only conceded 14 goals in total.
Gabriel joined Arsenal from Lille for a fee in the region of £23million in 2020 and has been a mainstay in the side ever since.
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Meanwhile, Saliba has been a revelation this season.
The 21-year-old signed from Saint-Etienne in 2019 for £27million but had to bide his time before making it into the Arsenal first team.
The France international was sent out on three loan spells to Ligue 1 and only made his Arsenal debut in this season’s opening game against Crystal Palace.
He went on to win the player of the match award and has since established himself as one of the most sought-after young defenders in world football.