“Everybody keeps praising Declan Rice, Saliba, Havertz and Martinelli but they’re forgetting to praise THIS player”- Rio Ferdinand says ‘superb’ £23M Arsenal star has been criminally underrated by Arsenal fans by not giving him the credit he deserves

Pundit says ‘superb’ £23m Arsenal star’s display must not go under radar

Ferdinand has stressed that people must not overlook how good Gabriel Magalhaes was for Arsenal in their victory over Manchester City on Sunday.

Rio was speaking on talkSPORT after Mikel Arteta’s men claimed the three points that lifted them above Pep Guardiola’s side in the Premier League table heading into the international break.

Both Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba were excellent for the Gunners. Erling Haaland barely had any impact on the game. And David Raya actually had barely anything to do after the early stages of the contest.

Ferdinand lauds Gabriel Magalhaes

Speaking to Sky Sports, Micah Richards suggested that Saliba is the best centre-back in the Premier League. And there is no question that he has been a massive fan favourite throughout his time at Arsenal – even long before he had made his debut for the club.

But Gabriel has been exceptional in the early stages of this season. And Martin Keown insisted that his performance must not go under the radar.

“I thought the Arsenal defence was superb,” he told talkSPORT. “Saliba showed why he was missed so much at the end of last season.

“Gabriel as well. Let’s not forget him. I thought they ate Haaland yesterday. Honestly, physically they were really up for that challenge.”

Arsenal fans vindicated for faith in Brazilian

It is almost remarkable to think that Mikel Arteta decided to leave Gabriel out of the team in the opening weeks of the season. 

He decided to use Thomas Partey on the right. And that saw Ben White move back to centre-back to play alongside Saliba. White did little wrong. But the experiment of using Partey as an inverted full-back did not work. 

The Arsenal fans wanted Gabriel back in. And they have been vindicated by his form since then. 

He probably does not get the same credit as Saliba. And perhaps he is not quite on the Frenchman’s level. However, he has been a stalwart of the Arsenal side over the last few years following his £23 million move to North London.

And it does appear that he is going to have a big role to play if Arsenal are now going to capitalise on Sunday’s brilliant victory.