William Saliba on Virgil Van Dijk: “He has aura. He’s the boss.” | OneFootball

Arsenal centre-back and France international William Saliba (23) has opened up in a feature published by L’Equipe this Saturday. The Saint-Etienne youth product is currently on international duty with Les Bleus as they gear up their preparations for the Euros. Depending on Dayot Upamecano’s fitness, William Saliba may start against Canada, this Sunday at Bordeaux, for France’s final friendly game before the tournament.

Although he is still 23, Saliba sees himself as a leader, as shown by his two excellent last seasons at Arsenal that earned him unanimous praise, but not an automatic starting spot for Didier Deschamps’ France so far. The former Marseille player thinks he’s one of the top 3 defenders in the Premier League. “I’m not the guy who talks much, but I talk more and more. I’m making progress on that point. In defense at Arsenal, I’m one of the leaders.“

In talking about his leadership qualities, William Saliba has lauded the influence of one of his Premier League opponents, Liverpool centre-back Virgil Van Dijk (32). “Van Dijk has aura. He’s the boss. He commands everything. You can feel he’s scaring strikers away. And I’m starting to feel the same way.” William Saliba and Virgil Van Dijk are due to meet when France take on The Netherlands on Friday, June 21st at Leipzig in the Euros group stage.

GFFN | Bastien Cheval