Gabriel Magalhaes admits he was shocked at how strong 22-year-old Arsenal youngster was

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Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes has admitted he was surprised at how strong teammate William Saliba was.

Gabriel was speaking to ESPN UK ahead of the start of the Premier League season.

The Brazilian defender has already earned a winner’s medal this campaign.

He and William Saliba started together against Manchester City on Sunday in the Community Shield final.

There was nothing either centre-back could do about Cole Palmer’s excellent finish, with Kieran Tierney failing to close the youngster down.

However, for the rest of the match, Gabriel Magalhaes did a fantastic job keeping Erling Haaland quiet.

The pair formed a brilliant partnership last season, with Arsenal’s season being derailed when the young Frenchman picked up an injury.

Gabriel has since admitted that he couldn’t believe how strong Saliba was when he joined the squad.

That strength is going to prove vital in plenty of their games this season, although his pace may be more important when coming up against Brennan Johnson on Saturday.

Gabriel shocked by how strong Saliba is

Speaking about his defensive partner, Gabriel said: “From the moment I saw him [William Saliba], I thought, ‘Wow this young boy is so tall, so strong.’

“It’s hard for me to say [what our strengths are], but, I believe that one thing might be that we did well because we speak the same language.

“I speak French very well, so we understand each other on the pitch.

“There are some differences in our game, I won’t talk about those here. I have certain characteristics, he has others but it’s working well so far.

“He only grew in my respect [when I first saw him train and play]. He returned with more maturity, more experience.

“He is a young man that has a lot of room to grow. I admire him a lot.”

Arsenal will feel that they’ve got a strong chance of challenging for the title again this season if Gabriel and Saliba stay fit.

Saliba has been receiving praise from a lot of his Arsenal teammates this season, with Oleksandr Zinchenko suggesting he’s ‘unbelievable’.

His form and fitness will play a key role in any success Arsenal enjoy this campaign.

They’ve also finally found a way to defeat Manchester City which might come in handy later in the year.