Former England striker Gary Lineker has now heaped praise on an Arsenal star that he compared to one Liverpool icon.
A number of Arsenal players have had hugely impressive seasons on an individual level.
Plenty of Arsenal stars could be argued as the club’s player of the season. Bukayo Saka was the Gunners’ most potent attacking threat, Martin Odegaard was the creative heartbeat of the team, Gabriel Magalhaes has come on leaps and bounds, David Raya won the Golden Glove, and Declan Rice was a revelation.
William Saliba also caught the eye once again this season. The French centre-back was in supreme form as Mikel Arteta’s side recorded the best defensive record in the top flight of English football. He was at the heart of that success.
Saliba made Arsenal history this season as he became the first outfielder to every play every minute of a Premier League campaign for the North London club. This alone underlines his importance to Arteta’s team.
On top of that, the 23-year-old also produced Man of the Match performances away from home against Liverpool, Manchester City, and Manchester United. These showings served to prove that Saliba now ought to be considered a world-class player.
This is all the more exceptional when his relative youth is taken into account, especially given he plays in a positions where experience is so commonly regarded as a vital attribute.
William Saliba likened to Liverpool great Virgil van Dijk
Gary Lineker picked Saliba in his own personal Premier League team of the season, and likened the 13-cap France international to Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk.
Speaking on The Rest is Football podcast, Lineker said: “Saliba is the kind of Rolls-Royce type. I mean, he’s such an athlete Saliba, and he reads the game so beautifully, and he times his tackles. A little bit like Virgil van Dijk…you don’t see him on his backside very often. He’s got great balance, he’s quick, he’s good on the ball. He’s got it all.”
Arsenal face challenge to keep William Saliba
Van Dijk has been one of the finest defenders in the Premier League in recent seasons. For Saliba to be compared with the Dutchman is praise indeed.
Arteta will believe that there is still plenty more to come from Saliba. The challenge Arsenal will likely face in the coming years is retaining his services.
If Saliba continues to impress and improve as he has done over the course of the last two seasons, then some of the biggest clubs in world football will surely soon come forward as suitors for his services.