Arsenal icon Ian Wright has claimed that the club's recent turnaround in fortunes has been inspired by a newfound defensive resilience thanks to three players in particular.
Mikel Arteta 's men have enjoyed a dramatic rise from the bottom of the table up to fifth place, embarking on an unbeaten run that currently sits at ten games and counting.
Breathing down the necks of fourth-placed Liverpool, Arsenal make the trip to Anfield next weekend knowing a win would see them leapfrog the Reds into the Champions League places.
A large portion of Arsenal's recent run of fine form has been down to the stellar displays from a number of their defensive minded players.
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Aaron Ramsdale has been a revelation between the sticks for the Gunners, pulling off an array of spectacular stops after displacing Bernd Leno as Arsenal's number one 'keeper.
Ben White's arrival raised eyebrows given the staggering transfer fee - but £50m has looked every inch a shrewd bit of business given his recent performances.
Alongside White, at the heart of the Arsenal defence, has been Gabriel Magalhaes. The Brazilian has shown a huge improvement during the early exchanges of what is his second season in north London.
Wright feels that the chemistry on show between the three players has proved crucial in propelling Arsenal up the table, securing some memorable wins along the way.
"I love the fact even with Benjamin White when he’s coming out and he said: ‘I don’t watch much football, I just play football’," the Arsenal legend explained on the Kelly and Wrighty Show.
"I love the fact that he’s brave enough and strong enough to admit that because he can deal with what comes with that.
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"But when you look at his performances next to Gabriel, it’s very solid with the goalkeeper. It’s a very good team, those three are very solid.
"They’re footballing centre-halves – into Thomas Partey, into [Albert] Sambi Lokonga."
Wright went on to highlight the structural changes the three have allowed Arsenal to make, particularly White and his ability to dribble with the ball.
"Now Arsenal are looking like, with the structure and the way the team is playing, you can see if it has to go long they’ll do that, but if a defender has to run it into the midfield and then go from there, we saw Ben White setting up Emile Smith Rowe’s goal the other day.
"So we’re looking at a team now with a lot of confidence."
The defensive trio of White, Gabriel and Ramsdale will face their sternest test yet against Liverpool on Saturday, up against the likes of the in-form Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino.
