Arsenal star William Saliba is arguably the best defender in world football.
The Frenchman has been unbelievable for the Gunners since he made his competitive debut in 2022. Since then, he has made the PFA Team of the Year in every single season.
Saliba is currently injured, so people aren’t talking about his brilliance much. But that doesn’t mean anyone has forgotten how good a player he is.
Tottenham Hotspur star Micky van de Ven has now had his say on the Arsenal man.
Arsenal defender William Saliba holding his award for making the PFA Team of the Year
Credit: Shane Anthony Sinclair/Getty Images
Micky van de Ven calls William Saliba a ‘legend’ and then changes his mind
Van de Ven is the captain of Tottenham Hotspur, so he should be very careful when he is talking about their North London rivals, Arsenal.
The Dutchman, who is a central defender himself, was recently asked by Mail Sport to rank a few other players – past and present – into different groups, namely: GOAT, Legend, Great and Good.
The first few names put in front of him were John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, and Virgil van Dijk. Van de Ven labelled all three of them ‘legends’.
Then, Arsenal star William Saliba’s name came up, and the Tottenham Hotspur star looked to have slipped up for a second, but he realised and corrected himself very quickly.
Van de Ven said as soon as he heard Saliba’s name: “Legend!” Then, he changed his mind by saying: “Nah, not a legend. He’s not a legend because he’s still playing. So, ‘great’.”
Gabriel Magalhaes’ name came up next, and Van de Ven knew what to do then. He quickly put him alongside Saliba in the ‘great’ category.
To be perfectly honest, Van de Ven is probably right. Saliba and Gabriel will almost certainly become Arsenal and Premier League legends by the time they retire. But right now, they are not quite there yet.
However, the way the Spurs star said ‘legend’ as soon as Saliba’s name was prompted shows that he rates the Arsenal man very highly, despite his Tottenham allegiance.