Arsenal duo Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba are widely regarded as the best defensive duo in the Premier League.
The Brazilian and the Frenchman have made 123 appearances together for the Gunners, impressively conceding just 115 goals in that time while helping Arsenal to 81 wins and 19 draws.
As formidable as William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes are – however – Ally McCoist believes the pairing of Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero at Tottenham is more important.
Ally McCoist says lack of squad depth at Spurs makes Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero more “vital” than Arsenal duo
Discussing the defensive duos for TNT Sports on YouTube, the man born in Bellshill labelled the Tottenham double act as more important than Mikel Arteta’s duo, purely due to the lack of cover Thomas Frank has at his disposal.
McCoist said: “The two centre-backs for them, Van de Ven and Romero. Vital, I think the two centre-backs are vital. We’re speaking of the boys at Arsenal, but it’s arguably more so at Spurs because I don’t think they’ve got the cover that Arsenal have.”
The 63-year-old is spot on.
If both Gabriel and Saliba were to suffer serious injuries, Arteta could still name a pairing of Riccardo Calafiori and Cristhian Mosquera, or even Piero Hincapie and Ben White in the centre of defence.
With regard to Tottenham, Frank would have to pair Kevin Danso and Archie Gray together if Romero and Van de Ven were absent at the same time, or the 32-year-old Ben Davies, representing a significant drop in quality compared to what Arsenal can fall back on.
Why Mikel Arteta broke up the partnership in 2023
Arteta actually dropped Gabriel – who has impressed Eberechi Eze with his aerial prowess – at the start of the 2023/24 campaign, fielding White next to Saliba instead as the South American watched from the bench.
The Spaniard claimed it was a tactical decision in the media, although Charles Watts told The Daily Briefing something different.
Arteta dropped Gabriel after the Brazil international had his head turned by interest from Saudi Arabia – according to the respected journalist – and only restored him to the starting XI once the defender regained full focus on Arsenal.
Arsenal fans will be pleased he did regain that focus, as the 27-year-old has since developed into one of the best defenders in Europe.