Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Jake Polden

Gary Neville suggests Thomas Partey wasn't Arsenal's best bit of transfer business

Gary Neville has heaped praise on Gabriel Magalhaes, suggesting he is Arsenal's best bit of summer transfer business.

A weak area for the Gunners over the past few years has been in defence, with Unai Emery overlooking the importance of strengthening the position during his tenure.

Mikel Arteta made it clear he wanted to improve Arsenal with a new midfielder and a number 10 in the summer transfer window.

And the Spaniard managed half the job, signing a world-class operator in Thomas Partey but just missing out on Houssem Aouar from Lyon.

But perhaps Arteta's most impressive bit of business was finally signing a reliable centre-back in Gabriel, who caught Neville's eye in Arsenal's recent win over Manchester United.

Gary Neville has heaped praise on Gabriel Magalhaes (SkySports)

"Arsenal's defensive performance has been brilliant, from front to back but the back three have been good," Neville said on Sky Sports.

"Gabriel has been fantastic, so far I'd say he's been the best player on the pitch, for me.

Gabriel has hit the ground running in north London (Paul Childs/POOL/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

"[Rob] Holding's been good in the right centre-back position as well. He was brilliant, Mikel Arteta, in the way in which he set his team up. [Pierre-Emerick] Aubameyang got the goal, which his team deserved.

"It leaves Manchester United in a desperate position, but he [Arteta] won't care about that. He's won the day, and deservedly so."

Is Gabriel Magalhaes Arsenal's best bit of summer business? Have your say here.

* Sign up to the Mirror Football email here for the latest news and transfer gossip

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.