Arsenal defender William Saliba has praised Virgil van Dijk insisting that he still watches the Liverpool star as somebody to "learn from".
What's the latest William Saliba news?
It's safe to say the French centre-back made a huge impact for the Gunners last term as he played a key part in helping the club mount a surprise challenge for the Premier League title.
Indeed, Saliba started the first 27 league games of the season for Mikel Arteta and co – losing just three times – before a back injury derailed both his and his club's campaign.
And with Arsenal falling just short without the defender, there will be much hope the 22-year-old can stay fit next term and lead the club to glory.
If he does, he would be following in the footsteps of fellow central defender Van Dijk who, of course, won the division with Liverpool back in 2020.
Since then, however, some feel as though the Dutchman has dropped off a bit. For instance, when the Reds hosted the Gunners at the back end of last season, Van Dijk was slammed in the media "after making key mistakes for both of Arsenal's goals."
And with Liverpool failing to finish in the top four, it's clear that a number of players were not at their best under Jurgen Klopp last term.
Even so, while speaking recently in an interview with the Daily Mail, Saliba was full of praise for Van Dijk, citing him as a source of inspiration even still now despite the player's dip in form.
He said: "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."
On emulating Van Dijk and trying to become the world's best, Saliba added: "Of course I have the quality, but that means nothing.
"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"
How long is Saliba's new contract?
Of course, Saliba has recently committed his future to Arsenal having signed a new four-year contract earlier on in the summer. It will keep him tied to the club until 2027.
However, it wasn't always clear if he would make it in north London under manager Arteta. Indeed, in the same Daily Mail interview, he noted that he was met with near-silence from his manager after returning from loan.
"I was so excited to do a pre-season with the team and to try to play in the Premier League and the Europa League," Saliba recalled.
"He said hello to me the first day. And then after he didn't speak with me."
The article claims that Arteta was keen to see how the Frenchman would react as a way to gauge his true character.
Saliba responded well. "I told myself to be good on the pitch, to give him a solution, to tell him: Yeah I'm ready," he explained.
"To tell him on the pitch is the better way… I knew one day he'll come to speak to me."
Arteta was reportedly struck within a couple of training sessions and from there on in, the rest is history.
