Scott Parker names two Arsenal players who are ‘prime examples’ of Mikel Arteta success

Scott Parker has claimed that Arsenal defenders William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes are emblematic of the success of the long-term project that Mikel Arteta is building in north London.

The Gunners returned to the top of the table on Sunday afternoon with a 1-0 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, with both of their centre-backs putting in influential performances. Saliba produced another defensively solid display at the back, while his Brazilian colleague was on hand to score the decisive goal with a tap-in from a corner in the 63rd minute.

The result now means that Arsenal are two points clear of Manchester City at the summit of the Premier League, and have dropped just four points this season having already played four out of five of their traditional top six rivals. Reflecting on another impressive showing from the Gunners, Parker emphasised the significance of the club’s recent recruitment policy, and the benefit of backing Arteta wholeheartedly.

Speaking on BT Sport, the former Bournemouth manager said: “Arsenal have brought in a manager in Mikel Arteta, and they’ve gone with how he wants to play. This is Mikel Arteta’s team. Mikel Arteta says, ‘I don’t want this player, I want this player. This is my game model, this is what I need’.

“The two centre-halves are a prime example. Mikel Arteta knows what attributes he wants at centre-half. These are the attributes he needs for his team, for his game model, and the way he plays. If there’s any sort of dysfunction along the organisation and someone else is buying in another centre-half, you don’t get that.”

Ex-Arsenal defender Martin Keown echoed Parker’s sentiments. He added: “It’s very much Arteta’s team now, isn’t it? You look at every compartment of that team - I don’t see a weakness.

“Whether it’s better than City’s is another matter, but at the moment, that’s as good as I’ve seen in many a year from an Arsenal side.”