Declan Rice has heaped praise on Gabriel Magalhaes, admitting the centre-back has surprised him since his arrival in the summer.

Declan Rice didn’t make any effort to hide his satisfaction at the performances of William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes in an interview after Arsenal’s win over Newcastle United at the weekend.

The Gunners have been in free-scoring form lately, netting 25 goals in their last six league games, but they’ve also been impressive on the defensive end, conceding just three.

Saliba and Gabriel have been a big part of that, and it’s fair to say Gabriel in particular has also chipped in going forward.

Speaking about the duo, Rice suggested that the Brazilian perhaps deserves a bit more praise than he gets.

“I can’t speak highly enough of them, I’m not going to sit here and lie,” Rice said.

“I think Saliba is unbelievable, obviously I heard about all the talk of him before I came here and the one who’s really surprised me is actually Gabriel.

“He’s so aggressive, so strong, really wants it all the time, never loses a duel.

“When you’ve got two centre-backs like that who want it, play aggressive, it really helps and gives you confidence.”

Gabriel has received plenty of plaudits recently, receiving multiple Player of the Month nominations for January, featuring in multiple Teams of the Week, and even getting a new chant from the Arsenal fans.

It’s just a shame it took until the 26-year-old started scoring goals for his defensive performances to be recognised.