Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk is a ‘Rolls Royce’ but Arsenal’s Gabriel Magalhães is the best centre-back in the Premier League, says Paul Merson.
Gabriel and Van Dijk have had contrasting starts to the season at Arsenal and Liverpool respectively.
Arsenal are top of the Premier League after nine games, while the reigning champions are seventh in the table after four consecutive defeats.
Gabriel has been one of the Gunners’ best performers, while Van Dijk has struggled in a very exposed Liverpool defense this season.
Gabriel Magalhaes vs Virgil van Dijk, 2025/26 Premier League
Aerial win percentage: Van Dijk 78-58 Gabriel Clearance: Van Dijk 87-54 Gabriel Yellow card: Van Dijk 1-0 Gabriel Shot blocked: Van Dijk 7-11 Gabriel Error leading to shot: Van Dijk 1-2 Gabriel
Liverpool’s woeful form is down to their shaky defence, with Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate looking very weak in recent games, particularly in Saturday’s defeat to Brentford.
Meanwhile, Arsenal have conceded just one goal in open matches in the 2025/26 Premier League season, largely due to the centre-back partnership of Gabriel and William Saliba.
Arsenal’s centre-backs are much better up front in the form of Declan Rice and Martin Zvimendi, while their full-backs Julian Timber and Riccardo Calafioli have been excellent.
Liverpool’s midfield has seen cuts and changes this season, while there is uncertainty in the right-back position with left-back Milos Kerkez in poor form and Jeremy Frimpong unable to secure a starting spot ahead of Conor Bradley and natural midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai.
This contributed to the exposure of Van Dijk and Konate in the middle. There was no such exposure for Saliba or Gabriel, who help Arsenal dominate opponents week in and week out.
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Arsenal star Gabriel is the best centre-back in the Premier League
Gabriel has been playing at an elite level since the beginning of the 2022/23 season, especially since Saliba joined the team.
They have helped each other develop as players and both have great ability when it comes to attacking and defending from set pieces, another incredible strength for Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal.
Gabriel is more dangerous than Saliba from corners and free kicks, having scored 11 goals in all competitions since the 2023/24 season.
Van Dijk is also a threat, but this team doesn’t have a lot of nonsense from dead ball situations.
The Brazilian has been comfortably better than the Reds captain this season and Gunners legend Merson believes he is the best player in his position in the Premier League.
“We’ve been talking about a partnership with him and Saliba for the last few years, the last few seasons,” Merson told Sky Sports. “He’s a great leader. He also contributes in terms of goals.”
Merson continued: “I think he’s an outstanding player. As a centre-half, I think you have to be better than the centre-forwards you play against. In every game this season, he and Saliba have been better than whoever they’ve played against.”
“Then he goes up for a set-piece. A lot of defenders go up for a set-piece, but they trot up because the manager has told them to go up, but they’re not going to commit.
Gabriel Magalhães is currently the most informed defender in the Premier League, with his highest rating (7.57) in his last six games. 🔴📈 pic.twitter.com/qDh638gzct
— WhoScored (@WhoScored) October 27, 2025
“There are a lot of players like Harry Maguire who are on the rise and are looking to score goals, but there are a lot of defensemen in the league who can break through and you can say, ‘He hasn’t scored a goal in about five years, but he’s taken about 300 corners.’
“He goes up to score goals. I think that’s another thing.”
“Is he the best player in the league in that position? He will be 100 per cent and Van Dijk plays in that position. He is a Rolls Royce for me, but I would say he is number one at the moment.”
Paul Merson was right, Gabriel should be given flowers.
Merson says questionable things at the best of times, but he’s spot on. For years, Gabriel was in Saliba’s shadow. The Frenchman has always been highly rated, but he doesn’t have the same level of consistency and reliability.
Goals from set plays don’t matter either. He happens to be a world-class defender who scores goals. Just as top teams like Arsenal don’t often have the image of being very strong at set-pieces, a physical defender like Gabriel shouldn’t be pigeonholed as a goal threat.
It’s about time he was recognized as the best centre-back in the Premier League. It was just a shaky few weeks for Van Dijk. “Rolls-Royce” is falling apart, folks.
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