Fulham boss Marco Silva says Arsenal have two of the best players in the world ahead of London derby

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Arsenal have a London derby to contend with on Saturday when Fulham welcome the Gunners to Craven Cottage.

Mikel Arteta was unable to beat Marco Silva – who Nottingham Forest could hire – last season in this fixture, as a goal each from Raul Jimenez and William Saliba saw both sides draw.

Arsenal did – however – beat Fulham by two goals to one in the reverse fixture at the Emirates Stadium.

Marco Silva has now been speaking about Arsenal ahead of the game – singling Gabriel Magalhaes and Saliba out for praise.

Marco Silva hails William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes

The BBC quote the man born in Lisbon as saying: “They have improved their depth. They are a very, very strong squad. It’s not a surprise to see how solid they are, they have one of the best centre-back partnerships in the Premier League and Europe.”

Arsenal have conceded just three goals in seven Premier League outings so far this season – the fewest of any side in the division – while only Newcastle have more clean sheets than the Gunners (4) with five shutouts.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	ArsenalArsenal	7	5	1	1	14	3	11	16
2	LiverpoolLiverpool	7	5	0	2	13	9	4	15
3	TottenhamTottenham	7	4	2	1	13	5	8	14
4	BournemouthBournemouth	7	4	2	1	11	8	3	14

Not only that, but one of the duo Silva praised is also an offensive weapon for Arteta in Gabriel – who scored a late winner against Newcastle in September. It was the Brazilian’s 18th goal for Arsenal in 167 Premier League appearances.

That equates to an average of a goal every nine games – an exceptional record for a defender.

Fulham must watch out for what William Saliba does

Saliba does not get himself on the scoresheet as much as Gabriel – the Frenchman only has six goals in 106 Premier League outings.

However, the Arsenal No.2 plays a key role in helping the Brazil international score, as Jamie Redknapp noticed when commenting on Gabriel’s winning goal against Newcastle.

Saliba often stands in front of the opposition goalkeeper – using his bulky frame to block them from getting a glove on the ball to good effect.

Redknapp said: “Saliba does so well, watch Saliba, he does enough, makes it difficult for him (Nick Pope).”

Silva therefore needs to be wary of this, but also consider how much of a threat the Frenchman can be himself having scored at Craven Cottage last season.