As the two center backs are ready to square off in the Premier League on Sunday, former Liverpool captain Jamie Carragher has compared William Saliba to Virgil van Dijk.
Building on his performance while on loan at Marseille, Saliba has been impressive since rejoining Arsenal in the summer.
The France international has started each of Arsenal’s eight Premier League contests. He scored in the victories against Bournemouth and Brentford as Mikel Arteta’s squad sits atop the standings.
On Sunday, the 21-year-old will be put to the test when Liverpool comes to the Emirates Stadium in an effort to rekindle their own top-four push.
Is Saliba Better Than Van Dijk?
While Carragher has pointed to some early errors of judgement, he was full of praise for a man who has helped the London side find another gear after finishing fifth last term.
“Saliba is a modern centre-back in the Van Dijk mould,” Carragher wrote in his column for the Daily Telegraph.
“He is fast enough to deal with the quickest strikers, aerially strong to cope with target men, and comfortable in possession to ensure his side can play from the back.”
“Yes, these are early days and Saliba has a long way to go to match Van Dijk’s long-term influence at Liverpool, but he has had an immediate impact on how structurally sound a previously flaky defence looks,” the 44-year-old continued.
“The major tactical difference a player such as Saliba makes is in enabling the team to play higher up the pitch, trusting their pacey, multi-faceted centre-half to react if strikers try to get in behind.”
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“So far, Saliba has been the perfect fit for Arteta, although he will occasionally show inexperience,” Carragher added.
“His misjudgement enabled Marcus Rashford to score on the counter-attack at Old Trafford recently.
“Arsenal paid a heavy price, losing a game they should have won. Although that is the only blemish this season, it demonstrated where Arsenal must improve to get close to the extraordinary standards set by Liverpool and Manchester City.”
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