Mikel Arteta called Gabriel Magalhães “one of the best centre-backs in the world” after he played a key role in Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Everton on Saturday.
Ezri Konsa scrambled in the Gunners’ opener from a corner in the seventh minute at the Emirates Stadium, their first goal from a set piece this season.
There was concern on the bench when Gabriel went down clutching his leg in the second half, but the defender recovered quickly to double the host’s lead.
The result pulls Arsenal level on points with Premier League leaders Manchester City, who lost 2-1 to Arsenal earlier in the day.
“Really happy,” Arteta told Sky Sports after the final whistle. “We made five changes. We’ve had three games in less than six days so we knew how tough it was going to be.
“But I thought the team performed really well. I thought it was really active from the beginning, put a lot of pressure on the opposition.
“We had some problems to finish the actions but we scored from a set piece – the first one this season – and that gave us the confidence and composure to go and dominate the game. But until we scored the second goal, we knew it was game on.”
Arteta: Arsenal star ‘one of the best in the world”
On top of scoring, Gabriel played a leading role in Arsenal’s fifth clean sheet in the league this season, making 12 defensive contributions as well as 10 line-breaking passes.
“I think he’s one of the best centre-backs in the world, no question, with the impact he has in both boxes,” said Arteta. “His leadership, his presence, what he offers to the rest of the boys is unique and we’re very happy to have him.”
Arteta rotated his lineup following Wednesday’s 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League. Ben White, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Mikel Merino, Eberechi Eze and Viktor Gyokeres all came in, with Kai Havertz, Jurrien Timber, Riccardo Calafiori, Bruno Guimaraes and the injured Bukayo Saka making way.
“In Munich it was one of the most physical games we’ve played in four years, the shift that we put in was incredible and then we have to play on Saturday at 3pm so we needed those legs, that freshness as well.
“Players are in good moments and they need minutes. They all did really well.”
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