William Saliba admits modelling himself on Virgil van Dijk’s four key attributes

William Saliba admits he still keeps tabs on Virgil van Dijk having taken inspiration from the Liverpool centre-half.

There is 10 years between the pair with the Frenchman observing his Dutch counterpart closely as he sought to learn from him. Van Dijk was hailed as the best central defender on the planet for several years when he first moved to Anfield, something Saliba himself agrees with.

The Dutchman was one of the catalysts for Liverpool’s trophy-laden spell under Jurgen Klopp, transforming the back four. Saliba has had a similar affect on Arsenal’s defence, albeit he has no trophies to show for it. The 22-year-old keenly watched various aspects of Van Dijk’s defending, including his ability to deal with one-on-one duels as well as the composure he showed in the backline.

He told the Daily Mail : “I still watch him!’ 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.”

Saliba himself has seen his stock massively rise last term in an Arsenal side that are upwardly mobile. They finished second to Manchester City and the Frenchman’s value has been underlined by a lengthy new deal and the centre-half believes he has what it takes to become the world’s best defender.

“Of course I have the quality, but that means nothing,” he said. “You have to work hard to go to this level. So I’m not close to this level but I will give everything to maybe one day become the best defender in the world.”

Saliba originally struggled for opportunities at Arsenal following his arrival from Saint Etienne. The defender was signed by Unai Emery, although the Spaniard never got the chance to use him as he remained in France for a further season on loan.

Mikel Arteta, upon his arrival, quickly farmed the youngster back to his homeland, where he enjoyed successive loan spells with Nice and Marseille. There was doubt over whether the Arsenal boss fancied Saliba, but he was handed his first Premier League start on the opening weekend last season – with the player himself always confident he would make an impact.

He said: “No, I’m not surprised because I knew that I had a good time on loan, I knew I was ready, I was just waiting for my chance. I’m looking forward to the future with this club. The future will be good for everyone, I hope. It won’t be easy but we will work hard for this and I know the club will be back at the very, very top. We have to do everything to win every title possible.”