Jamie Carragher has ranked former Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta above Arsenal’s defensive duo of William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes. The Liverpool legend shared his view of Premier League defenders during a conversation with GOAL (via TBR Football).
He conceded that Gabriel was ranked higher than Saliba, but he went on to place Azpilicueta over the two players. Saliba and Gabriel have formed an impressive partnership that has helped the Gunners to two consecutive second-place finishes in the Premier League. However, Carragher opted for the legacy that Azpilicueta left behind and his consistency for over a decade with Chelsea.
Azpilicueta arrived at Stamford Bridge in 2012 after leaving Marseille and soon established himself as the backbone of the club’s defense with more than 500 appearances, winning every trophy possible, including two league titles and the Champions League in 2021.
In contrast, Gabriel and Saliba have yet to win anything other than the Community Shield. They have gone a long way in establishing Arsenal’s defensive solidity, but it will certainly not be enough in Carragher’s books. The duo will have to guide the Gunners to clinching trophies more regularly, like Azpilicueta did at Chelsea.
Arsenal are set to snatch Borussia Dortmund’s highly-rated winger Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, pushing Chelsea to second place in this race for the 20-year-old English talent. Dortmund initially demanded €100 million but have since lowered the asking price to anywhere between €50-60 million, as per German outlet Ruhr Nachrichten (via GOAL).
Bynoe-Gittens, who came from Manchester City’s academy in 2020, has developed well in the Bundesliga. This season has seen him score 12 goals in all competitions, with four of those coming in the Champions League. He also became the youngest English player to score against Real Madrid in the competition.
All the talk about his future has entered the spotlight. Dortmund sporting director Lars Ricken insists that the Bynoe-Gittens would prefer to remain at the club. However, the reports say otherwise, revealing that the player is quite interested in returning to England.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta could see him as a potential key addition to the squad. The Gunners are targeting the strengthening of their attacking options, and Bynoe-Gittens could well a solution for pace and creativity to add some spark.
Chelsea, who have also shown a serious interest, now seem to have an uphill task in landing the winger. The race could decide which part of London Bynoe-Gittens might end up playing in next season.
Nnanna’s favorite club is English team Bolton Wanderers because he witnessed Nigeria legend Jay-Jay Okocha’s play for them between 2002 and 2006. His favorite footballer is Ronaldinho due to the Brazilian’s love for the sport and admires Pep Guardiola for redefining football tactics. As a former literature student, Nnanna reckons that the best way of connecting with the readers is to add a bit of empathy in his writing, and relies on trusted websites like Transfermarkt and WhoScored for his articles.
Lionel Messi lifting the World Cup trophy in 2022 is Nnanna’s favorite FIFA World Cup moment, and also follows Major League Soccer due to the diminutive Argentine. He strongly believes that Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland could be the next two superstars in the same light as legendary pair Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
When not writing, he likes to play Football Manager and other simulation games.
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