Arsenal discover Gabriel-Saliba hybrid

At the end of the day, Gabriel Magalhães and William Saliba will go down as one of the best centre-back partnerships in Premier League history. That is the standard they have set this season as Arsenal continue their charge towards their first title since their historic invincible season in 2003-04.

At that time, Sol Campbell and Kolo Toure played important roles in history. More than 20 years later, Gabriel and Saliba are returning to north London’s glory days.

Centre-back pairings don’t often take center stage in title-winning teams these days, but Arsenal’s best work has come from their dominant duo.

Gabriel and Saliba: the best partnership in the Premier League

Much has been said about Arsenal’s style and its influence cannot be denied. Only Mikel Arteta has been able to turn one of his central defenders into something of a talisman while maintaining the best defensive record in the Premier League. That is the main reason why the Gunners are nine points clear at the top of the table.

However, Gabriel and Saliba offer more than just an offensive threat. Their partnership took Arsenal out of the forgotten era of the likes of David Luiz and Shkodran Mustafi and into an era that could still be defined by an undeniable history.

No player in the Premier League has conceded fewer goals per game, fewer expected goals conceded (xG) or kept more clean sheets than the champions selected this season.

Furthermore, the Gunners are aiming to concede the fewest goals (19) as champions since Manchester City in the 2018/19 season (23).

Alas, whatever history has in store for them, there is still room for things to get even better for the North London side if Arteta continues to pick players who are becoming the perfect hybrid of Gabriel and Saliba.

Arsenal’s perfect hybrid of Gabriel and Saliba

Andrea Berta received well-deserved praise when Arsenal signed Piero Hincapie on loan with an option to buy worth £45 million. The new sporting director added more quality depth and has since looked likely to trigger that buyout option.

But what if Hincapie is more than just depth in his squad? A player who was hailed solely for his depth is certainly not going to start in the Champions League last-16 second leg at this level of scoring. But Hincapie has done just that and is rapidly cementing his place in Arteta’s strongest line-up at the Emirates.

In the match against Bayer Leverkusen, the Ecuadorian national team was unable to break through. When his old home came knocking, he just slammed the door. This has become a habit.

There were concerns that the South American would be a little too inconsistent to really step up alongside Gabriel and Saliba, but his aggression and incredible calm made him the perfect hybrid of the two.

Hincapie blocked the most crosses on the pitch, completed six clearances and contributed nine defenses. He was everywhere and matched Gabriel’s aggression, also making five clearances and making 11 defensive contributions. Simply put, Defenders are warriors, but calm warriors if there is such a thing.

Meanwhile, the former Bayer Leverkusen player matched Saliba’s composure throughout the second leg. Both players completed three or more passes into the final third, maintaining a pass success rate of over 80%.

That seems to be the theme this season for Hincapie, too. Hincapie would be a perfect player to use as a full-back or to step up into Arsenal’s centre-back duo.

Hincapie continues to prove that he is more than just a depth player at Arsenal and has worked his way into arguably Arteta’s best team in north London.

While Gabriel’s warrior-like tendencies set him apart and Saliba’s composure does the same for him, the South American has proven he has both traits in abundance.