Arsenal face Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday evening in what is bound to be a blockbuster tie between two top teams.
Thierry Henry thinks Arsenal can get through here, but with their injury crisis and Real Madrid’s European pedigree, conventional wisdom suggests that Real Madrid are favourites here.
Arsenal come into this game with a few injury problems.
Kai Havertz is out for the season, while Gabriel Magalhaes has a hamstring injury too.
Writing for Sky Sports. Paul Merson has been previewing this game, and he says that the loss of Gabriel is a serious blow for Arsenal here, claiming that the Brazilian makes William Saliba a better player in the same way Cole Palmer does with Nicolas Jackson at Chelsea.
Gabriel and William Saliba are similar to Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson
Merson shared his verdict on the Madrid game and the Gabriel – Saliba partnership.
The pundit says that he doesn’t fancy Arsenal’s chances now that Gabriel is set to miss this game, while he compared Gabriel and Saliba to Palmer and Jackson.
“I thought it was a 50:50 chance when Bukayo Saka came back from injury. But now with Gabriel being injured, I say 25 per cent,” Merson wrote.
“If you had a choice between Saka and Gabriel for these two legs, you would pick Gabriel. Because the way Arsenal will win this is if they make it a cagey cup tie. If this gets to a gung-ho football match, there’s only one winner.
“Saliba and Gabriel make each other better. They are like Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson, they are much better playing together.
“It’s a big ask for Jakub Kiwior, if he is the one to start. Jurrien Timber has only played at centre-back once or twice, while Ben White has been out a long time.
“You’re asking someone who hardly plays – because he’s not as good as the other two – to come into a Champions League quarter-final. Kiwior is alright, but he’s not Arsenal.
“And you’re asking Kiwior to mark him. Kylian Mbappe, the best in the world or at least in the top three alongside Harry Kane and Erling Haaland.
William Saliba’s record without Gabriel Magalhaes
Saliba will be heading into the Madrid game without his trusted partner by his side, and that is a worry for the Frenchman and for Arsenal.
Of course, Saliba has played without Gabriel before, and the stats show that Saliba doesn’t actually miss Gabriel all that much when he doesn’t play.
Gabriel is Saliba’s favourite teammate, but he does still perform well without him.
Intriguingly, Saliba has only played seven games for Arsenal in which Gabriel didn’t also feature, and Arsenal are actually unbeaten in that time.
| Arsenal’s record when William Saliba plays and Gabriel doesn’t | |
| Games | 8 |
| Wins | 5 |
| Draws | 3 |
| Losses | 0 |
| Goals conceded | 4 |
| Clean sheets | 5 |
Arsenal have kept five clean sheets in eight games that Gabriel has missed and Saliba has played, and that is a fantastic record to say the least.
Of course, none of these matches were against opposition the calibre of Real Madrid, but the numbers show that Saliba can still command a defence to a solid showing without needing Gabriel alongside him.
All hope may not be lost beading into this crucial Champions League tie.
