Arsenal fans may not realise how dominant Gabriel and Saliba have become

Now that the Champions League Final is set, fair to say it is likely to be a clash of styles on the banks of the Danube. Across all competitions this season, Arsenal have kept 30 clean sheets, the club's most in a single campaign for 32 years. In Europe meantime, Arteta's side have conceded only six goals in 14 matches, two of which came during January's dead-rubber against Kairat Almaty.

This is thanks, in no small part, to the partnership of Gabriel and William Saliba. The duo have now played 155 matches alongside one-another, adding up to 12,796 minutes, and are one of the best centre-back pairings European football has seen in modern times, simply lacking the silverware to back up this assertion. Well, hopefully, in the coming days and weeks, that will change.

With these two on the pitch, Arsenal simply do not concede goals in the Champions League.

Arsenal's UCL games with Gabriel & Saliba on the pitch (24/25 & 25/26)

Arsenal 1-0 Atlético Madrid. 90'. Clean sheet.

Atlético Madrid 1-1 Arsenal. 90'. Julián Álvarez converts a penalty.

Arsenal 0-0 Sporting CP. 90'. Clean sheet.

Sporting CP 0-1 Arsenal. 90'. Clean sheet.

Arsenal 2-0 Bayer Leverkusen. 90'. Clean sheet.

Bayer Leverkusen 1-1 Arsenal. 90'. Robert Andrich heads in a corner.

Inter Milan 1-3 Arsenal. 15'. No goals conceded during this period.

Slavia Prague 0-3 Arsenal. 90'. Clean sheet.

Arsenal 4-0 Atlético Madrid. 72'. Clean sheet.

Arsenal 2-0 Olympiacos. 75'. Clean sheet.

PSV Eindhoven 1-7 Arsenal. 90'. Noa Lang converts a penalty.

Sporting CP 1-5 Arsenal. 84'. Gonçalo Inácio scores a volley from a corner.

Inter Milan 1-0 Arsenal. 90'. Hakan Çalhanoğlu converts a penalty.

Arsenal 2-0 Shakhtar Donetsk. 90'. Clean sheet.

Arsenal 2-0 Paris Saint-Germain. 90'. Clean sheet.

Atalanta 0-0 Arsenal. 90'. Clean sheet.

Since the start of last season, with Gabriel and William Saliba on the pitch, Arsenal have conceded only five goals in 16 Champions League matches. Hakan Çalhanoğlu, Noa Lang and Julián Álvarez have all converted spot-kicks, while Gonçalo Inácio and Robert Andrich have scored via corners.

Nevertheless, this therefore means, since Joshua Kimmich's winner for Bayern Munich at the Allianz in April 2024, Arsenal have played 1,353 minutes of Champions League football, featuring both Saliba and Gabriel, without conceding a single open-play goal. That is 22 hours and 33 minutes of play, shipping only five goals, none from open-play, an astonishing statistic.

In the same period of time, 22 and a half hours, one could watch, the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy, Toy Story, the Shawshank Redemption, the Godfather, the Dark Knight Rises, Avatar and the Truman Show for good measure. The drive from Emirates Stadium to the Puskás Aréna takes a little bit less, estimated at around 19 hours and 15 minutes.

Well, by the time the team do arrive in Budapest, all Gooners will hope this streak continues. Paris Saint-Germain's forward line is pretty scary. Luis Enrique's side have scored 123 goals in 52 matches across all competitions this season, while Ousmane Dembélé, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Désiré Doué and Bradley Barcola are not bad options from which to chose for les Rouge-et-Bleu.

On the flip side, if anyone can stop them, it is surely the David Raya, Saliba, Gabriel and Declan Rice quartet, so will their defence line stand strong and lead Arsenal to European glory?

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