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Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has praised William Saliba and admitted that he was “nowhere near” the level of the Arsenal star at the same age.
Saliba has often been labelled by Arsenal fans as the best centre-back in the Premier League, despite only being 23 years old. The Frenchman’s playing style and stature has been compared to that of Liverpool captain Van Dijk, and the Dutchman has opened up on the Gunners star.
When asked about the centre-backs that impress him on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, Van Dijk said: “Obviously, Saliba’s making very good steps at the moment. He’s the first one I just have in mind now. He’s a solid one. I think in possession, he’s doing a good job.
“I think, if I’m honest, when I was that age, I was nowhere near where he was today. Obviously, that’s the beauty of football as well, I like to watch other defenders and pick up so many stuff from them. There are so many good ball players and centre halves. When you watch the game, I definitely watch games, especially on the highest level, you can always pick up certain things.
“But I also have in mind that teams are defending in a different way than we are defending, so you have to keep that in mind too. I think, especially in ball possession, the way you position yourself, because obviously we are a team that has the ball a lot. I play on the left side as a right footer, centre-half, obviously for many years. Sometimes it’s good to pick up the positioning of certain players and what they do. I feel like, at any age, you can keep learning and I definitely still do that.”
At the age as Saliba is at the moment, Van Dijk, now 33, had been plying his trade at Celtic shortly before moving to Southampton in 2016. In 2018, the Dutchman then made the big-money £75 million move to Anfield.
He is now edging towards the tail end of his career and will be considered one of the best centre-backs in the history of the Premier League having led the Reds to a the title in 2020 and the Champions League a year prior in 2019, after which he just lost out on the Ballon d’Or to Lionel Messi.
The two centre-backs’ form will be crucial for Liverpool and Arsenal as the two sides battle for the Premier League title. Van Dijk will be in action next when the Reds take on Brighton on Saturday, while Saliba’s Gunners travel to Newcastle in the early kick-off.
