Being the massive club they are, Arsenal have been blessed with truly world-class players over the years, players who have formed sensational partnerships.
One of the best examples of this has to be Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp, who, to many fans, remain the greatest ever to don the Gunners’ famous red and white.
The pair played 216 competitive matches together from the 99/00 to 05/06 season in which they combined for 20 goals, averaged 2.10 points per game and, most crucially, won two Premier Leagues, three FA Cups and two Community Shields.
The dynamic duo were the faces of Arsenal’s most successful era, and it now looks like Mikel Arteta might have created the club’s best pairing since them – and no, it’s not the summer signings of Eberechi Eze and Viktor Gyokeres.
Why Eze & Gyokeres could be a brilliant duo for Arsenal
They might not be the pairing in question, nor are they even all that in sync at the moment, but there is every chance that Gyokeres and Eze could become a formidable duo for Arsenal by the season’s end.
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One reason is the Swede’s positioning and the impact he has on opposition defenders.
For example, while he is most certainly still finding his feet in the Premier League and hasn’t quite found his shooting boots, it’s becoming increasingly clear that when he’s leading the line, he drags opposition defenders towards him.
Unlike Kai Havertz’s last season, who liked to drop deep and link play, the former Sporting CP star is playing more like a traditional nine, and thanks to his runs in behind and imposing strength, is stretching defences.
This, in turn, makes space for his teammates like Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard and Eze, who should become more effective at exploiting that space the more comfortable he becomes playing in the right eight for the Gunners.
Another reason the two summer signings could form a brilliant partnership is down to the Englishman’s ability to move the ball up the pitch.
After all, with Gyokeres spending more time in and around the penalty area than Havertz did last season, the Gunners need to get the ball to him, and that is something a fully up-to-speed Eze should be able to do.
Shots Total
3.31
Top 1%
SCA (Shot)
0.83
Top 1%
% of Dribblers Tackled
100.0%
Top 1%
Shots on Target
1.16
Top 4%
Pass Completion %
80.9%
Top 4%
GCA (Shot)
0.17
Top 4%
Pass Completion % (Medium)
84.7%
Top 8%
Successful Take-On %
58.8%
Top 8%
Assists
0.33
Top 12%
Through Balls
0.66
Top 12%
Touches (Mid 3rd)
21.88
Top 12%
Passes Attempted (Medium)
14.09
Top 15%
Goal-Creating Actions
0.50
Top 15%
For example, FBref ranked him in the top 8% of players in the league this season for successful take-on percentage, the top 12% for assists and through balls and the top 15% for goal-creating actions, all per 90.
In other words, the former Palace star is someone who can and will get the ball to Gyokeres in dangerous areas this season, and will only get better at it as he further beds into the team.
With all that said, while the summer signings could well become a game-changing pair this season, Arteta already has a truly world-class duo in his side today.
Arsenal's world-class duo
Some impressive partnerships are beginning to form for Arsenal this season, such as Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber and Leandro Trossard and Riccardo Calafiori, but the best of the lot is undoubtedly the one between William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhães.
After all, while the wide players are hugely important to the Gunners, their most significant strength is, without question, their incredible solidity at the back, which stems from the centre-backs more than anyone else.
For example, as things stand, the North Londoners have not conceded a single goal in the Champions League or League Cup, and have let in just three in the Premier League, one of which is that outrageous free-kick from Dominik Szoboszlai.
If the Gunners keep up their incredible efforts at the back, they stand a brilliant chance of beating Chelsea’s astonishing record of just 15 goals conceded in the 04/05 season.
Also, while the two centre-backs haven’t played all ten league games together this season, they have made eight appearances as a duo.
With that said, what is their overall record when playing together?
Well, across all competitions, the Frenchman and Brazilian have appeared in 126 games alongside one another, in which the Gunners have conceded 115 goals, combined for one goal and averaged an impressive 2.15 points per game.
And if that is not enough, before the Palace game on Sunday, the pair had made 93 league appearances together, during which they’ve conceded 0.78 goals per game, putting them as the sixth-best centre-back pairing in Premier League history.
However, given they’ve taken another massive step forward this season, it doesn’t feel unrealistic that they could eventually replace Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidić at the top of that table one day, as their average of 0.71 goals conceded a game isn’t that much better.
Ferdinand & Vidic
120
0.71
Keown & Adams
97
0.73
Campbell & Toure
59
0.73
Terry & Carvalho
85
0.76
Lescott & Kompany
58
0.76
Gabriel & Saliba
93
0.78
Van Dijk & Matip
72
0.81
Ultimately, with how well they’ve already played together, how much more impressive they’ve been this season and their ages, there is every chance that by the time they leave the club, Gabriel and Saliba could be viewed as Arsenal’s greatest ever duo.
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