Gabriel backs Jesus and Saliba to excel for Arsenal

Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes is convinced that Gabriel Jesus and William Saliba can give the team a huge boost, and has explained how he is helping the two settle in.

The Gunners have signed Jesus from Manchester City to fill an attacking void left by the January exit of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and the transfer of Alexandre Lacazette to Lyon following the expiration of his contract at the Emirates Stadium.

Jesus was on fire in pre-season, scoring seven goals, including a hat-trick in demolishing Sevilla, and made his Premier League debut for Mikel Arteta's side in the 2-0 La Liga win. last week on Crystal Palace.

While the Brazilian was off the scoresheet, his forward pressing caught the eye and defender Gabriel revealed he may have had a small part to play in moving Jesus to North London.

"Gabriel [Jesus] is a really good guy. Of course it helps that we have the Brazilian connection," he told Sky Sports.

"When we were on international duty, we discussed his future and I was like, 'Come to Arsenal! Come to Arsenal!' I may have had a little influence there."

"He is someone who is very focused and really likes to work hard. He is there to improve the team and he is already doing it.

"He came here with great expectations. He wants to achieve great things with Arsenal. I think he will really help us."

In the win over Palace, Gabriel had a new partner at the heart of defense in the form of Saliba, who was making his competitive debut for the Gunners three years after being signed from Saint-Etienne.

The France international has received plenty of praise following his performance, including being compared by Gary Neville to a young Rio Ferdinand, and Gabriel believes they can forge a strong relationship on the pitch.

"He's a young player who came here very young and then went out to gain experience," he added.

"Now, despite his age, he is already playing for the France team. That tells you how good he is. He is there to help the team and he is a very promising talent.

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"He's already a good friend of mine. We speak French together, so that helps. He's added a lot of quality to the team and I think he has a bright future ahead of him.

"I've been here two years now, so I have experience I can use to help him.

"But at the same time he can help me. He has a lot of quality and a lot of physical strength on the pitch. We have similar qualities. I think we complement each other well."