20 January 2023 , 13:04
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Manchester United have been urged to target Arsenal centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes in their trip to the Premier League leaders on Sunday.
Gabriel joined the Gunners in 2020 and has become a key part of their defence since his arrival. The Brazilian has formed a successful partnership with William Saliba this season, with Mikel Arteta's men possessing the second-best defensive record in the top-flight.
But Paul Parker, who won two Premier League titles while playing in defence for United, has insisted that Gabriel is someone his former club can exploit. And while he believes Arteta has built a good squad, he urged Erik ten Hag to make the most of Gabriel's weaknesses.
“In my opinion, Gabriel Magalhaes is Arsenal's weakest link. He is erratic and he is making a mistake in every single game. He is the player that Man United needs to run behind in the game if they want to stand a chance of winning the match,” he told Apostagolos.
“Martin Odegaard is the player that you need to stop if you want to have a chance against Arsenal. He is the best player in the Premier League right now and he must be terrible to face for every opponent.
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"I've said it before but he is one of my favourite players and the reason why Real Madrid didn't give him the opportunity to play was because of political reasons. It must have been.
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Former Manchester United star Paul Parker believes Gabriel Magalhaes is a weak link for the Gunners (Getty Images)“But I also have to praise Eddie Nketiah for his performances. He has been excellent and has filled the gap after Gabriel Jesus´ injury amazingly well. Man Utd need to be cautious around him because he can score goals out of nothing."
While Parker believes that Gabriel is a weak link, Arteta clearly does not feel the same way, having handed the defender a new contract in October. At the time, the Gunners boss insisted that the Brazilian had been key in his side's surprise title challenge.
“A winning team needs to have a spine of the team that is tremendously consistent and play at a really high level, keep clean sheets and we are doing that a lot. When we look at a central defender we look at partnerships," Arteta said.
“I think Gabby has made William a better player and I think Willy helps Gabby to be the same – there is a strong chemistry there. You can sense it and the way they communicate with each other and play for each other. It is really positive and what you want.
“If you look at some of the goals we have conceded there have been some individual errors in some of them but they have been shared. We have to accept that when you have young players in those positions, this is going to happen and that is the bill.”