John Terry picks out three Arsenal stars for special praise before Tottenham showdown

John Terry has singled out Gabriel Magalhaes, William Saliba and Declan Rice for special praise ahead of the north London derby, crediting the trio with making Arsenal a near ‘impenetrable’ force.

The Gunners hold a four-point advantage over Manchester City heading into their showdown with Tottenham, with bragging rights and local pride on the line at the Emirates.

Mikel Arteta’s side have slipped up on only three occasions in their quest for an elusive Premier League title and a narrow defeat away to champions Liverpool remains the club’s sole loss at this early stage of the campaign.

One of Arsenal’s setbacks came immediately prior to the international break, though, as Brian Brobbey popped up with a last-gasp equaliser for Sunderland to deny the league leaders of maximum points.

Arteta – whose side have finished runners-up in each of the previous three seasons – will be desperate to oversee a return to winning ways on Sunday afternoon against a Spurs team in a poor run of form.

However, the hosts received some bad news in the build-up as Arteta learned he will be without one of his key players in Gabriel, arguably the standout central defender in English football over the last 18 months.

The Brazilian, who has been instrumental in Arsenal’s set-piece dominance at both ends of the pitch, could be sidelined until January after going down with a groin problem while representing his country against Senegal at the weekend.

Arsenal have confirmed that they are awaiting the results of further scans to determine to true severity of Gabriel’s injury and a possible timescale for his recovery.

‘Gabriel is a big miss, especially with these games coming up for Arsenal,’ ex-Chelsea and England captain Terry told talkSPORT while previewing the derby.

‘He’s shown that he’s been immense both in his own box and the attacking box this year as well.

‘He’s chipped in with a few goals from set-plays so he’s going to be a big miss.

‘Even if he’s out for a few weeks, you’re talking two massive London derbies that he knows well so he’s going to be a big miss for them.’

According to Terry, Gabriel, Saliba and Rice have all played a major role in transforming Arsenal into a defensive powerhouse under Arteta’s stewardship.

‘In a way, I’m glad a little bit that they’ve conceded two away to Sunderland because they look very, very strong, I have to say, in terms of their defensive record,’ the five-time Premier League winner added.

‘Also, with how good the two centre-backs have been and with Declan Rice in front of that, it’s been pretty much impenetrable.

‘They’ve been very good and they’re top of the table at the moment, but he’s going to be a big miss for them, especially with the next couple of weeks.’

Turning his attentions to his beloved Chelsea, Terry bemoaned the side’s inconsistency, but refused to rule Enzo Maresca’s men out of the title race.

Asked whether Chelsea remained a genuine contender, Terry replied: ‘Listen, I think we are until we’re not possibly.

‘Arsenal have got a big couple of weeks, Spurs at home and Chelsea away, but to be fair, Chelsea have to just focus on what they’re doing at the moment.

‘Chelsea have shown a slight inconsistency this year in some games which I think we’re going to get with a younger group, but we’ll be there or thereabouts, for sure, at the end of it.’

Chelsea’s teenage sensation Estevao has stepped up in the absence of Cole Palmer in recent matches, scoring four goals in his last eight matches for the Blues.

‘He’s an absolute superstar and what he’s doing at the age he’s at is absolutely incredible as well,’ Terry said of the 18-year-old Brazil international.

‘What I love is that the manager is looking after him. I think the fans and a few of us would like to see a bit more game-time at times, but as a young kid you’ve go to be broken into the team in little bits.

‘We have an early kick-off away to Burnley at the weekend and that’ll be new to him because he hasn’t really experienced these early kick-offs so it’ll be interesting to see what the manager does.

‘He’s shown in the big games that he’s more than capable of dealing with it at this young age.’

But despite Estevao’s extraordinary rise, Terry believes Maresca will be counting the days for the injured Palmer to return to the fold.

‘It’s nice that the main focus isn’t on Cole like it has been,’ he explained.

‘The pressure has been on Cole over the last couple of years in terms of delivering, scoring goals, performing well.

‘That pressure’s now off him a bit because Estevao has come in and is scoring goals and it’s nice actually, it’s quite refreshing.

‘Also, it’s going to feel like a new signing for Chelsea when he comes back as well because he’s a top, top player.

‘The sooner he’s back fit, the stronger we are as a starting XI and a squad as well so we really hope he comes back soon.

‘With both of them in the team it’s a dangerous-looking side going forward.’

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