Frank Lampard was asked on Tuesday night about Arsenal’s current centre-back combination and how they compare to a legendary Chelsea partnership from the past.

There’s so many Chelsea legends that have been born across the club’s long history, including in the defensive area of the pitch. In particular, former Blues stars John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho once formed an iconic pairing next to each other for so long at Stamford Bridge.

We’d actually rank the Terry-Carvalho mix as the best centre-back pairing that the Premier League has ever seen. Speaking via Chelsea’s official website last year, Carvalho opened up on his special relationship alongside Terry.

In terms of the best defensive partnerships currently active in the Premier League, Arsenal’s combination of William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes looks the best around. The Gunners have gone so close in title challenges recently with this rock solid core in the heart of defence.

Are William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes the new John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho?

Frank Lampard, who himself is a major Chelsea legend, has been speaking about Arsenal’s defensive pairing of Saliba and Gabriel.

Interestingly, he was asked on Amazon Prime Video (7:42am, 1 October) if the Arsenal duo can be compared to his former teammates Terry and Carvalho.

Lampard answered: “No. Not yet. If they go and win two or three Premier Leagues and a Champions League, then maybe you can compare them. I’m not putting them down. They are fantastic…

“It’s not fair to make that comparison. At this point, no. What they’re doing at the minute is great things. Win some stuff boys and you can get in that conversation.”

The current Chelsea defence

Chelsea are currently without a backline that’s anywhere near as good as the one possessed by rivals Arsenal. There’s should be some optimism about the new-look combination at the Bridge this season, though.

We’ve seen recently that Wesley Fofana and Levi Colwill are forming a fresh partnership at centre-half. On paper, it’s got an excellent blend of pace, strength and quality on the ball. Tosin Adarabioyo does provide decent competition and cover, too.

If the Blues want to get back to winning silverware, Enzo Maresca’s side will need their defence to tighten up and for these relationships to build.

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