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Virgil van Dijk says player Arsenal sold for £18m always gave him problems
Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk has named a former Arsenal player as one of his toughest opponents ever.
The Dutchman is up there with the best defenders in world football. He has been incredible ever since he joined Liverpool in 2018, and he has faced some elite forwards over the years.
From Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to Erling Haaland now, Van Dijk has played against some of the very best, and he rates them all highly.
However, there is also a surprise name on the defender’s list of the toughest players he has faced in his career. He used to play for Arsenal.
Virgil van Dijk says former Arsenal star is one of his toughest opponents ever
Arsenal have had a number of incredible forwards over the years.
From the likes of Ian Wright, Nicolas Anelka and Thierry Henry to Robin van Persie, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Gabriel Jesus, several elite attackers have played for the club.
Virgil van Dijk has faced most of the recent attackers who have played for Arsenal, and he has done a decent job against almost all of them.
However, one player who constantly caused him problems was Olivier Giroud – a player who spent six-and-a-half years at Arsenal before being sold to Chelsea for £18 million in 2018 ().
Van Dijk came on as a special guest on the latest episode of the this week, and he was asked to name his toughest-ever opponents.
The Dutchman started with Erling Haaland and Sergio Aguero, but he then revealed how former Arsenal star Giroud always seemed to get the better of him.
Van Dijk said: “I’ve mentioned it in other interviews – Olivier Giroud.
“Link-up player, together at the time with Hazard, it was always Hazard giving him the flick and he would hold the ball. He would also score good goals against me.
“I always felt he’s not going to score and he managed to score.”
Olivier Giroud’s stats vs Virgil van Dijk – was he really that good?
Olivier Giroud was one of the most underrated players in the Premier League during his time at Arsenal.
The Frenchman scored over 100 goals for the Gunners when he was there. He was also really good for Chelsea, and his record for France speaks for itself – no player has scored more goals for Les Bleus than the 37-year-old.
However, was Giroud really that good when he came up against Van Dijk? Let’s take a look…
The striker, who currently plays for AC Milan, has played 14 games against Van Dijk over the years, and has scored six goals against the Dutchman for club and country.
Giroud has ended up winning seven and losing only four of those fixtures, while Van Dijk has managed to keep a clean sheet on just three occasions.
Yep, Giroud’s record against Van Dijk is very good, and that explains why the Dutchman raves about him.