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News
Rio Ferdinand picks £27m Arsenal player over ‘unbelievable’ Manchester United star
Rio Ferdinand has revealed that he currently favours Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes over Manchester United counterpart Lisandro Martinez.
Ferdinand, speaking on , believes you can look “no further” than the Gunners man mostly due to the fact he’s been playing more this season.
Martinez, one of Manchester United‘s most important players, has been sidelined for the majority of this season with a foot injury he sustained last September.
The Argentina international was out for nearly four months before returning for the Red Devils in January.
However, Martinez only played three Premier League games for Manchester United before suffering a knee injury to rule him out until April.
Meanwhile, Gabriel has once again been superb for Arsenal, forming the most watertight centre-back partnership in the Premier League alongside William Saliba.
The £27million Brazil international has been an ever-present for Mikel Arteta‘s Gunners, making 38 appearances in all competitions this term.
When asked to pick between Martinez and Gabriel, Ferdinand opted for the Arsenal man at this moment in time due to his availability and formidable partnership with Saliba.
“His [Martinez’s] impact on our team is massive when he’s not there,” said Ferdinand. “You know, we drop off massively when he’s not there especially him and Luke Shaw together.
“But I just say because he’s been more present as well I can’t look no further than Gabriel, and his partnership with Saliba is the best in the league.”
There’s no doubt that Martinez is a defender of the highest calibre, one who teammate Luke Shaw has deemed ““.
However, Gabriel is also a world-class centre-back and, given his availability this season, it’s not surprising to hear Ferdinand – a Red Devils man through and through – select him on this occasion.