"He will only get better - he is a Rolls Royce" - Arsenal icon compares Gunners star to Liverpool skipper Virgil van Dijk

Arsenal legend David O'Leary has heaped praise on French defender William Saliba, saying that he's like Virgil van Dijk when the Dutchman arrived at Liverpool.

O'Leary, who was a part of the Gunners between 1975 and 1993, has compared Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk to Arsenal defender William Saliba. He said that Saliba is similar to Van Dijk when the latter arrived at Anfield from Southampton for £75 million in 2018.

O'Leary added that Saliba will keep getting better under Mikel Arteta. He said (via Sky Sports):

"Saliba is like Van Dijk when Van Dijk came to Liverpool. To me he will only get better - he is a Rolls Royce."

The former Arsenal defender also lauded Saliba's partnership with Declan Rice and Gabriel Magalhães. He said that the three players have become the backbone of the North London club, adding:

"That three there have been absolutely phenomenal. They are the backbone really. For the push now until the end of the season, it is vitally important that you don’t lose these three."

Saliba joined Arsenal from Saint-Etienne in July 2019. However, he was sent on loan deals to the likes of Saint-Etienne, OGC Nice and Olympique Marseille before he became a crucial part of the Gunners' starting XI in 2022.

Since joining the north London side, Saliba has made 69 appearances and also bagged five goals and two assists. Mikel Arteta's side have the best defense in the Premier League this season, with the Frenchman helping them keep 11 clean sheets in 27 games.

Meanwhile, Van Dijk joined Liverpool from Southampton in 2018 and has helped them win every trophy available since.

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Arsenal joins the race to sign €100 million forward in the summer transfer window: Reports

According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Mikel Arteta's Arsenal have joined the race to sign Sporting CP forward Viktor Gyökeres.

Gyökeres joined the Portuguese side in July 2023 from EFL Championship side Coventry City. Since joining Sporting, the Swedish forward has been in top-notch form. He has made 35 appearances for them, in which he has bagged 32 goals and 11 assists. He is also the joint top-scorer of Liga Portugal with 18 goals (tied with SC Braga's Simon Banza.

As per the aforementioned report, the Swede has a release clause of €100 million, which can be triggered by the Gunners in the upcoming summer transfer window. However, according to Ben Jacobs from GivemeSport, the Gunners are still in the race to sign Napoli's Victor Osimhen and Brentford's Ivan Toney.