Van Dijk gives honest praise to direct Premier League rival

Arsenal and Liverpool were among the other sides to book their place in the last eight on the Carabao Cup, alongside Manchester United, but Chelsea were beaten 2-0 at Newcastle.

Both the Gunners and the Reds have something valuable in common - two of the best centre-backs in Europe at the moment. William Saliba and Virgil van Dijk have been doomed to comparisons between the two from the moment they arrived in the Premier League as they both play in the same position and are superb defenders.

However, comparisons do not create rivalry, but admiration. "Obviously, Saliba's making very good steps at the moment. He's the first one I just have in mind now. He's a solid one. I think in possession, he's doing a good job," Van Dijk said on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast. 

"I think, if I'm honest, when I was that age, I was nowhere near where he was today. There are so many good ball players and centre-halves. When you watch the game, I definitely watch games, especially on the highest level, you can always pick up certain things," he continued. 

"But I also have in mind that teams are defending in a different way than we are defending, so you have to keep that in mind too. I think, especially in ball possession, the way you position yourself, because obviously we are a team that has the ball a lot."

The Dutchman went on to add: "I play on the left side as a right footer, centre-half, obviously for many years. Sometimes it's good to pick up the positioning of certain players and what they do. I feel like, at any age, you can keep learning and I definitely still do that."