Teddy Sheringham says Arsenal’s William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes are not better than Tottenham’s Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero.
Saliba and Gabriel have established themselves as one of the most impressive centre-back partnerships on the planet in recent seasons.
Arsenal have conceded just three goals in 10 games this season but Sheringham has argued that Spurs’ central defenders are just as good.
Sheringham feels Van de Ven and Romero are in the ‘same bracket’ as Saliba and Gabriel – and Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate.
‘Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero are in the same category as Gabriel and William Saliba,’ the former Spurs forward told Oddspedia.
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‘Everyone talks about the best Premier League centre-back pairing being Gabriel and Saliba.
‘You can also make a case for Liverpool’s defensive partnership: Virgil van Dijk is still a fantastic player, although there are still question marks around Ibrahima Konate.
‘But I would place Van de Ven and Romero in the same bracket as those two pairings.
‘They both complement each other very well; if one gets beaten, his partner is there to cover for him.
‘It’s unusual for a centre-back pairing at Spurs to be likened to the Premier League’s elite defenders, but they’re the bedrock of a stable team.
‘We saw last year how Spurs struggled without that pairing and it ultimately contributed to Ange Postecoglou’s downfall.
‘If you took both Van de Ven and Romero out of the team, it becomes very stressful for Spurs, so Thomas Frank will be glad they’re back in the team and showing their class.’
Van de Ven scored a stunning solo goal for Spurs on Tuesday night as the north London side beat FC Copenhagen 4-0 in the Champions League.
Picking up the ball on the edge of his own box, he charged through half ofthe Copenhagen team before bending a finish past the goalkeeper.
‘It seems like we had Lionel Messi turned into Micky van de Ven!’ Spurs head coach Thomas Frank said after the match.
Football pundit and ex-Spurs midfielder Jamie O’Hara told Sky Sports: ‘I think Van de Ven has more about him than Gabriel. I think Romero is on par Saliba.
‘There is not a centre half in the world that can do what Van de Ven did last night.
‘Gabriel cannot score that goal.’
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