Rob Edwards has given a lot of praise to William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes ahead of Lutonahead of Arsenal, stating that the two 'meet nearly all the requirements' as center-backs.
Saliba and Gabriel have arguably been the two best central defenders in the Premier League this season, with Arsenal ranked second in the table and having the best defensive record in the top flight.
Erling Haaland looked frustrated up front at the Etihad as Arsenal and Manchester City played out a draw at the weekend and Saliba and Gabriel were widely praised for neutralizing the threat posed by Pep Guardiola’s star-studded attack.
The duo are expected to continue playing in the center of Mikel Arteta’s defense on Wednesday night when Arsenal welcome Luton to the Emirates, aiming to reclaim the top spot from Liverpool.
A win would put Arsenal one point ahead of Jurgen Klopp’s Reds, who will host Premier League strugglers Sheffield United the following evening.
When asked about his thoughts on Saliba and Gabriel at his pre-match press conference, Luton manager Edwards – a former center-back himself – told reporters: ‘I’ve been really impressed with them.
‘They have everything, don’t they? They have strength, speed, power, but they are very well coached and obviously they understand the game.
‘They can also play well with the ball so they nearly have it all. It’s Arsenal Football Club and you would expect that as well.
‘They have such power and athleticism and they are a big reason why they suffocate teams. They can press and be very aggressive and compete in every way.
‘If you want a battle, they are up for a physical challenge and also they can play, so they meet nearly all the requirements and they were clearly outstanding at the weekend.’
Edwards was ‘fascinated’ by Arsenal’s top-of-the-table clash with City, last year’s treble winners, and felt the two teams gave a ‘masterclass’ in how to set up defensively.
‘I found it fascinating. Tactically, it was really, really interesting. We talk about Arsenal with the ball and obviously City are incredible as well,’ the Luton head coach explained.
‘Arsenal’s defensive stability, focus, the way they dealt with it was brilliant.
‘They were really aggressive when they tried to press high and when they were low they were excellent, outstanding, and hardly gave City any chances.
‘It was a bit of a masterclass from both sides defensively. Really, really impressive.
‘I know from a lot of neutrals and people watching it might not have been what they wanted to see, but with the stakes so high and what that game meant, I thought there was some brilliant performances on the pitch but maybe not the entertain that the public wanted to see.
‘I found it very interesting to watch.’
Declan Rice scored a last-minute winning goal as Arsenal won 4-3 at Kenilworth Road in December and Edwards is expecting a different kind of challenge on Wednesday evening.
‘It was a somewhat unusual game, as it can sometimes be at Kenilworth Road,’ he added.
‘They’re in excellent form, especially since the period around January. They have come back and been amazing.
‘I know they didn’t score at the weekend but they’re scoring plenty of goals and they are obviously very hard to break down.
‘Mikel and all the players are doing an outstanding job so if we’re able to go and score three at the Emirates then we’re doing pretty well!
‘We’ll try to be ourselves and try to be the best version of ourselves. It’s difficult at the moment, but the last one was a really exciting game.
‘We’re going to be deeper this time, we know that. They’re so good with the ball, they’re going to push us deeper, we’re going to have to defend really well. We’ll see.’
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