Rio Ferdinand has disclosed Declan Rice has been ‘raving’ about his Arsenal teammate Gabriel Magalhaes.
The Gunners may have lost their lead in the Premier League after Sunday’s draw against Manchester City, but the resistance they showed in limiting the champions to a few chances to score has received widespread praise.
Arsenal currently have the toughest defense in the Premier League and have only conceded four times since the start of the year.
And while William Saliba received the man of the match award after another outstanding performance, Ferdinand revealed it is his partner in crime who Rice has been ‘speaking highly’ about.
The Brazil player was criticized by Ferdinand last season, who accused the former Lille defender of being too hasty after giving away an unnecessary penalty against Tottenham.
Ferdinand, however, has noticed how the 26-year-old seems to have eliminated the weaknesses in his game to become one of the best in the league.
‘When I saw Declan the other day and spoke to him he was speaking highly and enthusiastic about Gabriel,’ Rice told Vibe with Five.
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‘I criticized him last season and I stand by that and rightly so. But he seems to have learned, he’s matured. He’s one of the most aggressive, but also controlled now and composed center halves in the league.
‘His partnership with Saliba… if he was fit the back end of last season they might have won the league. His importance and stature within the team now is alongside Gabriel.’
Ferdinand also believes that, in the form of Gabriel and Saliba, Arsenal now have the best central defense partnership in the English top flight, and one that his starting to resemble the legendary relationship he enjoyed with Nemanja Vidic during Manchester United’s hayday.
He said: ‘I don’t think you can look at one without the other. I think they’re the best partnership.
‘Van Dijk and Konate are close but these two work together better.
‘When we interviewed Nemanja Vidic, he said something really important that when you build a foundation for a great team you need a partnership at center-back who play consistently together.
‘When it’s all said and done I don’t think Nemanja Vidic is Nemanja Vidic without Rio and I’d say the same.
‘I wouldn’t be held in the class I’m in without Nemanja Vidic by my side. That’s where I think these two are going towards.
‘When they walk out on the pitch these two are hand in hand, side by side, shoulder to shoulder. There’s no A side in that they’re both A side and they roll. I love it and I respect it.’
