Rio Ferdinand and Declan Rice agree on Arsenal duo as Edu's £54m transfer spree justified

Rio Ferdinand was in agreement with Declan Rice's verdict on Arsenal duo Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba. The Gunners claimed their sixth Premier League win on the bounce with a 4-1 victory over Newcastle United on Saturday night.

Own goals from Sven Botman and Lewis Miley were supported by strikes from Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka at the Emirates Stadium. Victory for Arsenal moved Mikel Arteta's side back to just two points behind leaders Liverpool after their midweek win over Luton Town, while Manchester City also returned to one point adrift of the leaders with their 1-0 win over Bournemouth.

Two players at the heart ofArsenal's win over Newcastle were defenders Saliba and Gabriel. It was the latter who provided a key role in the opening goal of the contest, which saw Botman inadvertently guide the ball into his own net from an Arsenal corner.

Both Saliba and Gabriel have been key reasons behind Arsenal's defensive stability this season, conceding 23 goals out of 26 goals, which is the fewest across the Premier League.

The Gunners, led by sporting director Edu, signed Saliba from Saint Etienne in a £27 million deal in 2019. A year later, Arsenal returned to Ligue 1 to sign Gabriel from Lille in another deal worth £27m.

Before kick-off against Newcastle, Rice was asked about the importance Saliba and Gabriel have to the Arsenal team. The England international was full of praise for the duo and even admitted that he was surprised by one of them when he arrived from West Ham last summer.

How Arsenal brought the noise for special Newcastle win after purposeful Martin Odegaard message

What Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard did to spark Newcastle onslaught as Jorginho shouts at Saka

«I can’t speak highly enough of them; I