Wolves manager Gary O’Neil singled out Arsenal defenders William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes for praise ahead of Saturday’s 3pm Premier League kick-off at Molineux.

While O’Neil’s Wolverhampton Wanderers side may be comparatively prolific compared to the toothless teams of Bruno Lage and Nuno Espirito Santo – an average of nearly 1.5 goals per game representing a big improvement in the final third – Matheus Cunha, Hwang Hee-Chan and co will have their work cut out this weekend.

No team in the Premier League has a better defensive record than Arsenal, after all. Only 10 goals conceded in 13 matches.

William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes are not merely stoppers of dangerous attacks but capable of starting them too, pushing up the pitch and breaking the lines at will.

Wolves face daunting Arsenal test:

“The two centre-backs that they have are incredible physically,” O’Neil tells the Wolves website. “Which allows them to be unbelievably aggressive, especially at home in how they press and how they go after teams, knowing they have them two at the back and Declan Rice in front of them.”

Saliba can genuinely lay claim to being the most in-form centre-half anywhere in world football right now. And O’Neil buys into the theory that, if the France international had not missed last season’s run-in due to the most untimely of injuries, Wolves may be travelling to the Premier League champions tomorrow.

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“They’ve made some improvements and would have possibly gone on to win the league last year without the injury in the back line they suffered late on,” O’Neil says, his Wolves side gearing up to take on an Arsenal team full of confidence following the 6-0 midweek hammering of RC Lens.

“I think they’re excellent. Their position in their Champions League group, their position in the Premier League tells you exactly what they are,” the former Bournemouth boss adds.

“They’re a tough team in trying to find ways to cause them problems. But, of course, we’re looking forward to it. We need to mix things up a bit because of suspensions and injuries, and it’s probably the ultimate test for us at the moment.”

Wolves, in truth, have caused their fair share of problems for the Premier League’s big-hitters this season. They beat Man City, beat Tottenham, drew with Newcastle, and gave both Liverpool and Manchester United plenty of headaches.