Arsenal defence "right up there" with best ever as two Gunners legends endorse Mikel Arteta's backline

Two legendary Arsenal defenders have given the current Gunners backline their seal of approval as Mikel Arteta's men celebrate their latest clean sheet, Ray Parlour has exclusively revealed to Sports Mole.

The Premier League leaders' rearguard was formerly impenetrable throughout October and early November, as Arsenal kept eight straight clean sheets and went 812 minutes without conceding before losing their astonishing record in their 2-2 draw with Sunderland.

Injuries have since hampered the Arsenal defence, as they have kept just three clean sheets from their last nine matches in all tournaments, although one of those arrived in their 1-0 Premier League victory over Everton on Saturday evening.

The Toffees generated no big chances and just 0.20 Expected Goals against the Gunners, who will spend Christmas Day at the top of the Premier League table thanks to Viktor Gyokeres's spot kick at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

George Graham's Arsenal were famed for their rearguard resilience, and Parlour has now revealed that two iconic Gunners defenders - Tony Adams and Martin Keown - have endorsed Arteta's backline.

Ray Parlour: 'Arsenal's defence up there with the best ever'

Asked if the current Arsenal defence was the best ever, Parlour replied: “It’s right up there. It's certainly up there. A back six I call it. A goalkeeper's always got to be involved. But I've played with some great defences, when Sol Campbell come in, Kolo Toure in that Invincible season was brilliant.

“But I look at the guys now, Gabriel's been absolutely unbelievable. Saliba, we know how good he is. Calafiori took his chance and he's never looked back. And obviously Timber's been brilliant - A really good link-up player, he likes getting forward as well.

“At the moment, the defence is very, very good. If you go back to Arsene Wenger's era, when he first turned up, he'd always say that he had one of the best back sixes of all time. And that really helps, because if you don't concede too many goals, and you've got good attacking players, you're always going to win games.

“It’s been a real blessing in disguise for Arteta. He’s got two players for every position, really. Lewis-Skelly, Ben White, players who probably walk into quite a few sides, but there's a lot of competition there.

“Timber's been brilliant, Calafiori’s come in. We had a lot of good defenders - Martin Keown, Tony Adams - and they're very impressed with the defence at the moment.”

Two young Arsenal defenders could earn Crystal Palace opportunity

Arsenal will seek back-to-back clean sheets in Tuesday's EFL Cup quarter-final with Crystal Palace, where Arteta will be missing Cristhian Mosquera, Ben White and Gabriel Magalhaes once again due to their respective ankle and thigh injuries.

Meanwhile, Jurrien Timber has been denied a rest in recent weeks due to Arsenal's shortages in that area of the field, and Arteta may also exercise caution over Saliba and Piero Hincapie, the latter of whom has filled in admirably for Gabriel in recent weeks.

It has been suggested that Arteta could play one surprise name in Timber's slot, but 19-year-old right-back Joshua Nichols will surely come into contention for a starting role in the quarter-final, over one year on from his first and only Arsenal appearance so far against Bolton Wanderers.

Another juvenile defender - 16-year-old Marli Salmon - should also be a part of the matchday squad against the FA Cup winners, although it would be a surprise to see the 2009-born centre-back given the nod over Saliba.

There is optimism that Gabriel will be fit before the end of 2025, but neither White nor Mosquera are expected back in action until mid-January.

Ray Parlour was speaking to Sports Mole on behalf of NetBet Online Casino.