‘He has everything’: £27m Arsenal star says he often watches Liverpool player to try and learn from him

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William Saliba has claimed that Virgil van Dijk was the perfect defender for the Arsenal star to learn from, insisting that the Liverpool centre-back was the best in the world for a couple of years.

Saliba was speaking to the Daily Mail as he prepares for his second full campaign as a key man for the Gunners. Of course, he will be hoping to help Arsenal take that final step that proved to be beyond them last season.

He certainly made a major impact last year. In fact, there is an argument that William Saliba had one of the biggest impacts on a team’s defence since Virgil van Dijk completed his move to Liverpool a few years ago.

Saliba lauds impact of Virgil van Dijk

The Dutchman’s arrival – along of that of Alisson Becker – proved to be a game-changer for the Reds. And he has since helped Jurgen Klopp’s men cement themselves as one of the world’s best sides of the last decade.

Unsurprisingly therefore, van Dijk had a big impact on Saliba. The Arsenal star has opened up on how he would study the former Southampton man – particularly when he was at the peak of his powers.

“I still watch him,” he told the Daily Mail. “I really like his quality in one-against-one, his calmness, his composure and his long balls as well. He has everything and, for me, he was a good defender to learn from… I think he was – for two or three years – the best defender in the world.”

Liverpool signing van Dijk really was a massive moment for the Reds. He arrived when he seemed to be on the cusp of being one of the very best in the Premier League. And he just kicked on from there.

There was real excitement when Saliba returned from his most recent loan spell a year ago. The fans were desperate for Mikel Arteta to hand the £27 million star a chance.

Arteta did give him that opportunity. And very quickly, it became apparent that the fans’ excitement was not misplaced.

Both Saliba and van Dijk have been compared to Rolls-Royces on a number of occasions in their careers. The hope for Arsenal is that Saliba can follow further in van Dijk’s footsteps by getting his hands on a number of honours in the years to come.

Certainly, it will not be long before young centre-backs coming through in the Premier League are talking about the influence Saliba had on them.