Sports
Ray Parlour responds to Frank Lampard’s claim about William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes
Ray Parlour, a veteran of Arsenal, says he agrees with Frank Lampard that Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba still have a ways to go before they can be compared to some of the greatest center-back partnerships in history.
Over the past two seasons, Saliba, 23, and Gabriel, 26, have been crucial members of Arsenal‘s defense, and they were both rightfully selected to the PFA Team of the Year the previous season.
This season has started similarly, with the Gunners giving up only five goals in six league games as rival forwards find it difficult to overcome the formidable pair.
Since joining forces, Saliba and Gabriel have been likened to a number of iconic centre-back partnerships of yesteryear, including Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, as well as Arsenal’s own Tony Adams and Martin Keown.
But earlier this week, Lampard immediately shut down comparisons between the Arsenal duo and long-time team-mates John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho, widely considered to be Chelsea’s greatest centre-back pairing in history.
Asked whether Gabriel and Saliba were comparable with Terry and Carvalho, Lampard told Amazon Prime: ‘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.’
It will come as no surprise that Chelsea fans tended to agree with Lampard’s point of view given the sheer number of trophies Terry and Carvalho got their hands on while sharing a dressing room at Stamford Bridge.
Speaking on talkSPORT, ex-Arsenal and England midfielder Parlour concurred, arguing that Saliba and Gabriel will have to win major silverware before they can ‘start going above’ the likes of Terry, Carvalho, Ferdinand and Vidic.
‘I’ll go with Frank. At the moment they are the best pairing,’ Parlour said.
‘It’s longevity isn’t it? If they can do it season-in, season-out then absolutely.
‘If you put John Terry and Saliba together, I know Gabriel’s a great player as well, but that could be a good partnership there.
‘What about Vidic and Ferdinand back in the day? If you go further back you’ve got the Arsenal back four and you go ever further back, Alan Hansen, Mark Lawrenson and Phil Thompson.
‘Gary Pallister and Steve Bruce back in the day… there have been some great centre-backs. It’s really difficult but I can see why Frank has gone with John Terry and Carvalho. Two top-class defenders.
‘But if Saliba and Gabriel can keep doing it year-in, year-out… they’re young still. Saliba is only 22 and Gabriel is only mid-20s so if they can do on a regular basis over seasons.
‘The biggest question now, Frank has said that because they [Terry and Carvalho] won trophies so if they [Saliba and Gabriel] can win trophies now, that’s when they start going above people.’
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