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Virgil van Dijk makes ‘honest’ claim about Arsenal’s William Saliba amid comparisons
Virgil van Dijk has, for a long time, been considered the best centre-back in English football.
Van Dijk has been absolutely imperious for Liverpool🌳 over the past seven years or so, and he’s been perhaps the best centre-back on the planet in this time.
🎃However, recently, there’s been a new challenger emerging for Van Dijk’s crown.
Arsenal’s William Saliba has been utterly brilliant for the Gunners over the past two-and-a-half seasons, and there have been suggestions that Saliba is even better than Van Dijk.
🍨Speaking on Rio Ferdinand’s Podcast, Van Dijk has now been discussing Saliba, and he’s been full of praise for the Frenchman.
Virgil van Dijk praises William Saliba
Van Dijk spoke incredibly highly of Saliba.
📖The Liverpool captain said that Sailba is very good on the ball, and he says that he’s actually better at his age than Van Dijk was at the same stage of his career.
꧑“Obviously, Saliba is making very good steps at the moment. Yeah, he’s on the first one I just have in mind now. You know, he’s a solid one,” Van Dijk said.
𝐆“You know, I think in possession he’s doing a good job.
꧙“Does he remind you of yourself a little bit? Because I liken him to you a little bit in a lot of aspects of his game,” Van Dijk was asked.
❀“Yeah, maybe. You know, I think if I’m honest, when I was that age, I was nowhere near where he was today. And obviously that’s the beauty of football as well.
⛦“You know, I like to watch other defenders and pick up so many stuff from them. There are so many good ballplayers”
What William Saliba has said about Van Dijk
🌸Van Dijk and Saliba are often compared to one another, and while some believe Saliba has overtaken Van Dijk, the Frenchman doesn’t believe that to be the case.
Indeed, 🔴Saliba stated last year that he thinks Van Dijk and Ruben Dias are the two best centre-backs in the Premier League ahead of himself.
🧸“Right now, honestly, it’s Ruben Dias. Normally for me it is Van Dijk he is the best. Over the last four years he was the best in the world, but for me last season it was Ruben Dias, Van Dijk second and then Thiago Silva third,” Saliba said.
ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ“I hope maybe I will be top three next season, but I think maybe they are better than me right now. It’s not good to say they are better, but they are right now better than me but I hope one day I will be better than everyone here.”
Meanwhile, ♌Saliba recently picked Van Dijk as the best Premier League defender ever.
🅘These two may be rivals on the pitch, but there is clearly a lot of respect between the two in terms of their abilities.
ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚAt the age of just 23, Saliba has so much room to grow and improve, and it wouldn’tbe a surprise if he did reach Van Dijk’s level in the near future.
