Jamie Carragher has questioned Arsenal defender William Saliba's leadership skills, suggesting the France international "doesn't look the same player" without the injured Gabriel Magalhaes next to him.
Saliba and Gabriel have formed an impressive partnership at the heart of the Gunners defence, which has been a key factor in Mikel Arteta's side's revival in recent seasons.
However, Gabriel has been missing from Arsenal's starting line-up since being ruled out for the rest of the campaign after picking up a hamstring injury in his side's 2-1 win over Fulham on April 1, and Saliba has not quite looked his rock-solid self since.
The France international made costly errors against Real Madrid and Crystal Palace, while Carragher criticised his role in Cody Gakpo's opener in the 2-2 draw with Liverpool on Sunday.
Carragher believes the absence of Gabriel has shown a side to Saliba's game that he needs to improve.
"I think he is one of the top centre-backs in European football," Carragher said on Sky Sports' Super Sunday.
"As a partnership, him and Gabriel is as good as anything in the Premier League.
"I think Saliba is the better player but Gabriel is the better leader, and Saliba needs to bring that to his game if he wants to get to the levels we talk about with Virgil van Dijk.
"Saliba needs Gabriel. Since Gabriel has come out of the team, that's not the same Saliba I'm watching.
"The amount of mistakes he's made in the last couple of months, it feels like he makes a big mistake every time I watch him."
'Saliba needs to become a leader to take next step'
Carragher added that, while Saliba has all the attributes to go right to the very top, he thinks he needs to add leadership to his game to start being compared to the likes of Tony Adams for Arsenal and Van Dijk for Liverpool.
He added: "Saliba's not a kid anymore but he's not quite in his prime. As a centre-back, when you know the guy next to you is a leader, when he moves away, you've got to become the leader and organise the back four, not just play your own game.
"For me, the great centre-backs, it's not about how good you are and everything you can do. He's great in the air, he's got great pace and he's good on the ball, you want all of that, but you need to affect other people," Carragher said.
"Think of the great centre-backs - Tony Adams, Virgil van Dijk. They're not just great players, they make everyone else around them look like great players.
"That's the thing I think is still lacking with Saliba. Without Gabriel, he doesn't look the same player, and that's not something you want to be labelled as.
"I'd be embarrassed if I were playing as a centre-back for Liverpool and people were saying, 'He's not the same player without him next to him'.
"We say that a lot about other Liverpool centre-backs without Van Dijk, but he's very rarely out and he makes the person alongside him look like a top player.
"If we are being totally honest, a lot of the Liverpool centre-backs from the last three or four years, I think the Liverpool supporters think they are a lot better than they actually are because of who they are playing alongside.
"I'm still waiting to see that next step to Saliba becoming a great.
"He's a top player. He's got everything you'd want.
"But to make that next step, to be alongside the likes of Adams in an Arsenal shirt and Van Dijk in a Liverpool shirt, you've got to make that next step, and that's becoming a leader."
