William Saliba ranks top Premier League centre-backs ever, surprises fans with his choice

William Saliba has made a surprising choice when asked to name the best Premier League centre-back of all time.

Saliba first joined Arsenal back in 2019 from French side Saint Etienne.

After three loan spells away from the Emirates, Saliba became one of Arsenal’s most important players during the 22/23 season.

The 22-year-old helped the Gunners to mount an unexpected Premier League title charge but could not prevent Manchester City from coming out on top in the end.

In a recent interview with Sky Sports, Saliba was asked to rank the top three of all time in the Premier League.

Saliba was given three names, in the shapes of John Terry, Vincent Kompany and Rio Ferdinand.

The Frenchman picked Kompany as his number one, before putting Ferdinand second and Terry third.

Talking about his decision: “I watch clips of all three on YouTube, sometimes to learn.

“They are all good and it was hard to make a choice but I will probably start with Kompany, then Ferdinand and Terry third.”

Saliba was then asked to rank the current crops of centre-backs in the Premier League.

The Arsenal man opted to pick City defender Ruben Dias first, Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk second and Thiago Silva of Chelsea third.

Saliba said: “Normally, Van Dijk is the best during the last four years. But for me, the last two seasons the best was Ruben Dias.

“I think in the world, last season, Dias was the best for me. Right now, Dias, Van Dijk and then Silva.”

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He added: “I hope maybe I will be top three next three but right now, they are better than me.

“I hope one day I will be better than everyone here.”

Arsenal will be back in Premier League action this weekend as they take on Manchester United on Sunday.