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Former Arsenal hero Theo Walcott has issued a blunt warning to William Saliba and Gabriel after Arsenal's 2-2 draw with Sunderland at the Stadium Of Light on Saturday evening.
The Stadium Of Light has always been a fortress for Sunderland, and they have kept that going this season as the newly promoted side have yet to lose a game at home in the Premier League since getting promoted.
Arsenal were hoping to be the first team to do that, being the league leaders, but even they were held to a 2-2 draw by Granit Xhaka's new team, in a game which had ups and downs for both teams involved.
Arsenal's centre-back partnership in particular, William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes, struggled to keep up with the pace and physicality of Sunderland's attack, and they were not able to keep the goals out of David Raya's goal.
Former player Walcott was asked about their performance after the game, and he gave a surprising answer about the best centre-back partnership in England.
Theo Walcott thought William Saliba and Gabriel were rattled against Sunderland
He said about the draw: “It was the most rattled I’ve seen Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba this season.”
After the game against Manchester City this season, it is fair to say that this was the first time that the centre-back pairing was truly tested this season. The rough, physical and strong attack of Sunderland, led by Isidor initially and then Brian Brobbey, was a tough task. It is not easy to defend players of their calibre.
However, to me, it looked like the players did well. Yes, they conceded, and yes, they struggled a bit at times, but these Arsenal defenders gave a lot of it back to Sunderland's attack as well.
Arsenal's intensity was not a problem, and in fact, the Gunners were on their way to winning the match altogether if it wasn't for a last minute goal by Brobbey.
So, to call it being rattled in the truest sense of the word is a bit extreme. However, in the context of the match and the season so far, I guess it would not be the most outlandish thing to say.
They clearly did struggle, and the international break would come at a good time for both players to sort themselves out, rejuvenate and get back to winning ways as soon as possible.
Arsenal have not lost anything yet, certainly not after a draw against one of the better teams in the league, but to win anything in the future, they must start another positive streak after this game.