Rio Ferdinand has said that Arsenal have two players in their squad that makes them a better title contender than Liverpool right now.
The Gunners struck late to beat Brentford last night while Liverpool battled to a hard-earned draw with Manchester City at The Etihad.
All three teams are in the mix for the title as it stands, with Arsenal sitting top of the pile. Tottenham or Aston Villa can also close the gap today, with just five points separating the top five as it stands.
After spending so much money in the summer, Arsenal were expected to challenge. But despite those new signings, former Man United defender Rio Ferdinand believes it’s the duo of William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes that sets them apart.
Rio Ferdinand lauds William Saliba and Gabriel partnership
Speaking about the Arsenal centre-back pairing for TNT Sports, Ferdinand said he believes the duo will be the difference this season.
“The two centre-backs they’ll be the reason why I put Arsenal ahead of Liverpool in the title race. To challenge someone like City. You can trust those two implicitly. They’re bang in form and they only look like that partnership is going to grow,” Ferdinand said.
“The other thing is, they don’t mind coming to places like this and having to fight, that’s the big difference as well. Some players, when it’s good and going well they look good. They don’t mind rolling up their sleeves and doing the ugly stuff.”
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Defences win titles
Both Saliba and Gabriel have been hugely influential players for Mikel Arteta so far and they look very much the real deal when it comes to central defensive units.
At the end of the clip, Rio Ferdinand talks about how defences win titles and that is absolutely true in a lot of major sports.
Arsenal seem to have got a more rock solid foundation this season and while the free-flowing football going forward isn’t the same, they look every bit contenders.
If Saliba and Gabriel can indeed stay fit, then it might just get them over the line.