Keown offers Arsenal pair Saliba and Gabriel advice ahead of Champions League ‘nightmare’ vs PSG

Martin Keown has offered “sensational” Gabriel Magalhaes and “Rolls-Royce” William Saliba some advice as they prepare for the “nightmare” challenge of Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final.

After clinching a first Premier League title in 22 years, Mikel Arteta’s side take on PSG in Budapest on Saturday in the showcase game of the season as they look to secure a historic double.

Gabriel and Saliba have formed a formidable centre-back partnership for Arsenal that’s been at the centre of their rise to become one of the best teams in Europe and Keown was full of praise for the pair ahead of the showdown.

He told football.london: “I think we’ve probably got the best two central defenders in Europe right now. I think Gabriel is a bit of a sensation this season, in both boxes and what he’s brought to the team.

“Saliba is like a Rolls-Royce of a player. He’s silky, good in possession, big, strong man, mobile. He’s got everything to his game. Goes on loan, by the way, for three seasons.

“When you spend that amount of time on loan, you start to think, ‘this can’t be for me, I can’t be an Arsenal player’. So just think about that for a minute. The mental toughness he had.

“Maybe it was part of a bigger plan. But he was the [UNFP Ligue 1 Young] Player of the Year in that last season he was there. He was the man of the match in his first game for Arsenal against Crystal Palace.

“I was at the game thinking, ‘where’s this kid been?’ Goes on loan for three years and comes back. So now he’s formed a partnership with Gabriel. Gabriel’s a player I find I get the most joy from watching because I like his physicality.

“I like the way that he makes his challenges. It’s rewarding for me to watch. I’m not saying that I played like that because he’s a way better player than me, but I enjoy that style that he offers, and I think he is the leader of the pack, and they are quite formidable, and they will need to be at the weekend because they’re going to be stretched.”

Saliba and Gabriel look set to for their toughest test of the season against PSG’s fluid and fabulous forwards and Keown had some words of advice for the duo.

He added: “Sometimes when you’re playing, when you don’t have anyone to mark, and suddenly you’ve got three players to mark, it can be a nightmare.

“[Ousmane] Dembele’s going to run out of that space. He’s going to disappear, and then [Khvicha] Kvaratskhelia is coming in like an express train, suddenly into that space. You have to be able to read things very quickly.

“Don’t go off too deep. When you do, you’ve got to win it. It’s a difficult task to play against PSG, and this will be their most difficult game…”

READ MORE: Eboue tells Arteta told not to start two Arsenal stars in Champions League final vs PSG

The ‘Number Ones’

Asked about a moniker for this Arsenal team after the side Keown (sort of) played in went down in history as the ‘Invincibles’ after going through a whole Premier League season without losing a game, the former Gunners centre-back said they should be called the ‘Number Ones’. Catchy.

“They’ll be winners, that’s what they will be – and that will do for me,” Keown said.

“And they’ll be the first-ever winners of the Champions League. So for me, they’re the ‘Number Ones’. They’re not just the ‘Unforgettables’ or the ‘Invincibles’. They’re the ‘Number Ones’.

“It puts them as number one, because no one else has won it.

“We’ve been disappointing in Europe. There was a Cup Winners’ Cup competition that fell through our hands. The UEFA Cup as well, Galatasaray beating us on penalties.

“So the club needs to now do something major in Europe.”

Arsenal were beaten in the semi-finals of the Champions League last season by PSG, who went on to win the competition, but Keown believes this group of Arsenal players will be in a different head space after winning the Premier League title.

“One thing I found, when you hear that music, that Queen music – you know, We Are The Champions,” Keown said.

“It does something to you. You start believing that you can achieve anything.

“The sky is the limit. This kind of creates a platform for the club. This will give them wings to go and do something really very special.”