‘I was nowhere near’

Virgil van Dijk has made an honest admission when comparing himself and Arsenal centre-back William Saliba.

Van Dijk and Saliba are two of the best defenders in the Premier League and arguably in world football.

But the Dutchman, 33, is envious of the Gunners star who at only 23 years old, is making waves in England.

“Obviously, Saliba’s making very good steps at the moment,” Van Dijk said on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast when asked to name a defender who has impressed him the most recently.

“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.”

Van Dijk then admitted: “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.”