Frank Lampard says Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba have to win major trophies with Arsenal before they can be compared to some of the great centre-back partnerships of the Premier League era.
Gabriel and Saliba have played an integral role in Arsenal’s rise under Mikel Arteta over the last two seasons and both players were rewarded with a place in the PFA Team of the Year after exceptional campaigns last term.
This season, Gabriel and Saliba have picked up where they left off, with the Gunners conceding just five goals in six league games, and the pair are widely considered to be the finest centre-back partnership in English football.
It has led to comparisons between Gabriel and Saliba and many of the legendary centre-back partnerships of yesteryear, including Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Matic, as well as Arsenal’s own Tony Adams and Martin Keown.
They have also been mentioned in the same breath as iconic ex-Chelsea duo John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho, who won multiple trophies across their time together at Stamford Bridge.
But former Chelsea and England midfielder Lampard wasn’t having any of it when the topic was raised on Amazon Prime’s Champions League coverage this evening.
Asked whether Gabriel and Saliba were comparable with Terry and Carvalho, Lampard replied: ‘No. Not yet.
‘If they go and win two or three Premier Leagues and a Champions League then maybe you can compare them.
‘Listen, I’m not putting them down. They are fantastic, young and they’re growing all the time.
It’s not fair to make that comparison because this is all ahead of them. But at this point, no.
But what they’re doing at the minute is great things. But yeah, win some stuff, boys, and you can get in that conversation fully.
While comparisons to all-time greats of the Premier League may be premature, Manchester United legend Ferdinand believes Gabriel and Saliba are Europe’s best based on current form.
‘Yeah, definitely. I think they are. They proved that the last couple of seasons now,’ Ferdinand said on TNT Sports earlier this month.
‘They’re resolute. They’re hard. They can do it in different ways. You’ve got a great blend. Saliba is a little bit more calm and wants to cover and sweep a little bit.
‘Gabriel’s on the front foot, more of a Martin Keown type. [He’s an] aggressive-type player. They complement each other so well.’
Ex-Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher, meanwhile, is confident Gabriel and Saliba can go on and emulate some of the legendary centre-back pairings in Premier League history.
‘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,’ Carragher wrote in a recent column for The Telegraph.
‘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.’
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