Football pundit Alan Shearer was impressed with two Arsenal players who were impressive against Tottenham on Sunday.
The Gunners managed to beat their rivals 1-0 when most people expected the hosts to get the three points due to the injury crisis at Arsenal.
Mikel Arteta’s team were without a number of first team players including Martin Odegaard, Mikel Merino, Riccardo Calafiori due to injuries.
Declan Rice was suspended for the match after his red card against Brighton in the previous match.
They still managed to beat their rivals thanks to Gabriel’s goal in the second half of the match.
Shearer was impressed with Arsenal’s defensive duo Gabriel and William Saliba, who both showed once again why they are so highly rated in the football world.
‘They are big, they are strong, and they don’t mind a battle. In fact, they love a battle and a challenge,’ the former striker told Premier League Productions, as quoted by Metro.
‘They just got rid of everything that came into the box they were absolutely magnificent.’
‘When you go one goal behind against this Arsenal team you have got to do something special to get back because it’s very very tough.’
‘They’ve got the best back four in the Premier League there is no doubt about that. The way they operate, the way they work, they way they are protected.’
‘Spurs didn’t have an answer today – not for the first tie this season – but in the end, they ended up just lumping balls into the box which are food to these two centre-halves.’
It was a statement win from the Gunners against their biggest rivals. After taking the lead, they kept the Spurs attack quiet and displayed a fine defensive performance.
The Gunners have won three out of their first four matches of the season. They only lost points against Brighton, in the match which saw Rice receive a red card.
Arsenal face Man City in the Premier League next
With their first choice midfield out of the match, the way Arteta and the players handled the difficult trip to the Tottenham Stadium deserves praise.
Arteta’s team has often been criticised for their lack of depth in the squad but the performance against Spurs on Sunday would give them confidence for their next Premier League match against champions Manchester City.
After competing against City for the last two seasons, the Gunners are expected to do the same this season and they will be hoping to finally end their dominance this season.
