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Frank Lampard sends brutal three-word putdown after Arsenal duo compared to Chelsea icons

Frank Lampard
-Credit: (Image: Jonathan Moscrop)


Frank Lampard has insisted that Arsenal defensive duo Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba are not yet comparable to Chelsea's partnership of Ricardo Carvalho and John Terry.

Carvalho and Terry were successful at Stamford Bridge between 2004 and 2010. The pair helped the Blues win three Premier League titles, three FA Cup's, two League Cups and the FA Community Shield.

Terry's name went down in Chelsea history books during his 19-year spell at the club. The centre-back lifted five Premier League's and the UEFA Champions League in 2012 in Munich.

Plenty of partnerships in Premier League history have been compared to the Chelsea pair - such as Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic - over the years. Now, Arsenal's centre-back pairing is widely-viewed as the current best in England, if not European football.

However, despite playing at elite levels for the past two seasons, Lampard has claimed they are not yet at Carvalho and Terry's levels. Even if they are going in the right direction, Lampard says Saliba and Magalhaes must 'win some stuff' to be considered as being alongside his former teammates.

Asked if the Gunners pair were comparable to the two greats during Amazon Prime's build-up to Arsenal's game with Paris Saint-Germain, he replied: "No, not yet.

"If they go on to win two or three Premier Leagues or the Champions League, then maybe you could compare them. They are fantastic and young. I say young, but they're growing all the time and it's not fair to make those comparisons because this is all ahead of them now.

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"But at this point, no, but what they're doing is great. Win some stuff boys then you can get in that conversation [laughs]."

Lampard's comments come after Jamie Carragher claimed the Arsenal pair were 'on the threshold of joining elite company' of great centre-half pairings. In his column for the Telegraph, he said: "Provided they stay together, we will eventually reference Saliba and Gabriel in the same breath as the two stand-out partnerships of my generation; Chelsea’s John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho, and Manchester United’s Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.

"Arsenal must win the Premier League or Champions League for the duo to establish themselves in that hall of fame, but they are making giant strides and are the biggest reason why Mikel Arteta’s side can travel to Manchester City with confidence this weekend.

"I rank Terry and Carvalho as the Premier League’s No 1. They were the foundation of Jose Mourinho’s brilliant Chelsea side, rewriting the records and redefining what was possible at the highest level by conceding just 15 goals in a Premier League season in 2004-05.

"Ferdinand and Vidic closely follow as the ideal duo in a more attacking Manchester United team – the stand-out of the many great defences Sir Alex Ferguson constructed during his reign."