William Saliba heaps praise on Virgil van Dijk as he hails the Liverpool man as ‘the boss’… and reveals how far away he is from reaching his fellow defender’s level

Arsenal star William Saliba has praised Virgil van Dijk and admitted he is ‘starting to feel the same’ as the Liverpool man.

Van Dijk has become one of the best defenders in the world in recent years. He finished second to Lionel Messi in the 2019 Ballon d’Or and won both the Premier League and the Champions League with Liverpool.

Saliba, meanwhile, is nine years younger than Van Dijk but has become crucial to Arsenal’s impressive defense, which has helped the Gunners push Manchester City to the limit in the last two Premier League title races.

His partnership with Gabriel has become synonymous with his side’s play, with the Frenchman playing every minute in the Premier League as Arsenal conceded just 29 goals last season, five fewer than their biggest rivals.

Saliba spoke about national service in France ahead of next summer’s European Championships in Germany and spoke about Liverpool captain Van Dijk, who he could face during the tournament.

He described the Dutchman (pictured) as ‘the boss’ and assessed how far he thinks he is from the level of the Reds captain.

He said Van Dijk ‘has aura’ and ‘commands everything’ and that he is ‘starting to feel the same’

“Van Dijk has charisma,” he said L’Equipe. ‘He’s the boss. He commands everything. You feel him chasing away attackers. And I’m starting to feel the same way.’

The 23-year-old Saliba has previously been a fringe player for France, with Van Dijk’s Liverpool partner Ibrahima Konate often preferred in defense instead of him.

However, he has been included in the 26-man squad and will be keen to force his way into the squad as Didier Deschamps’ side look to bounce back from their 2022 World Cup final disappointment.

The central defender has set the bar high and, despite knowing his capabilities, wants to continue to improve.

‘I think I’m in the top three [defenders in the league],’ he said. ‘We finished with the best defense. I watch a lot of matches. I am a very modest person, but last season, like this season, I was in the top three defenders.

‘I have to keep working to get even higher. I am a lot better in terms of concentration. I used to be able to play a top match, but in one phase of the game I slept a bit. That is no longer the case. I’m always alert.’

He also backed his club to push City again next year, but failed to point to Van Dijk’s Liverpool, who finished third last season after falling out of the title race in the pre-season.

“We played them three times and we made them struggle,” Saliba said of City. ‘They feel and we feel that we are close to them.

“We’ll have an even better war next year.”

Saliba has formed perhaps the best centre-back partnership in the league at Arsenal, alongside Gabriel (left)

Gabriel, meanwhile, has revealed the one club he has always dreamed of playing for and said he would join ‘tomorrow’

Gabriel, meanwhile, has named the one club he has always dreamed of playing for.

Amid speculation linking him with a number of Saudi Pro League clubs last summer, Gabriel ultimately opted to remain in North London and was rewarded for his performances with talks over a new contract towards the end of the season, but he may not be at the club. Gunners forever.

‘My favorite club? Corinthians, it has been since I was born and today I don’t think it has to be any different,” he said ESPN Brazil.

‘I still go to the Corinthians games by train. It’s my dream, I want to play for Corinthians, I want to feel that energy. It’s something to think about. Sometimes I stop and think, “Do I dream of playing for Corinthians?” I do. When would I play for Corinthians? For me, I would be at Corinthians tomorrow.”