Arsenal star William Saliba is among the best defenders in world football.
The Frenchman has been absolutely outstanding since breaking into Mikel Arteta’s side in 2022. He is one of the first names on the team sheet every week and rarely ever has a bad game.
That is phenomenal considering that Saliba is still only 23 years old. There is still a lot of time before he reaches his prime.
Once that happens, he can be compared to the greatest defenders the world has ever seen – like Real Madrid and Spain legend Sergio Ramos.
Saliba really wanted the Spaniard’s shirt last season, but that did not happen for one reason.
Why Sergio Ramos did not swap shirts with Arsenal star William Saliba
Ramos is an absolute legend of the game.
The former Spain international won it all with Real Madrid and his national side back in the day and cemented himself as one of the greatest centre-halves of all time.
Saliba is a big fan of Ramos and claimed in his press conference on Tuesday that the former Galactico is ‘the best defender in history’.
Furthermore, when asked if he had ever spoken to the legendary Spaniard, Saliba revealed that he really wanted to swap shirts with him after Arsenal’s game against Sevilla in the Champions League last season.
However, the Frenchman’s wish remained unfulfilled.
That’s because his centre-back partner Gabriel Magalhaes also sought Ramos’ shirt – he wanted it so badly that the Spaniard gave it to him instead of Saliba.
“We played against him last season. I wanted his shirt, but Gabriel as well wanted his shirt. He gave to Gabriel because he wanted his shirt so bad. So he gave it to Gabriel.
“Yeah, it’s the only thing I spoke to him. Of course, for me, he is the best in history.”
The one thing William Saliba needs to do to become as great as Sergio Ramos
Saliba has all the characteristics to become the best centre-back in the world.
Many Arsenal fans feel he is already better than everyone else in his position, but the Frenchman admitted in his press conference that he is not quite there yet.
Saliba certainly has the ability, and he has mostly been consistent in Arsenal’s colours as well. But, there’s one thing still missing – trophies!
Ramos has won 28 senior trophies for club and country. If Saliba wants to get on his level, he will have to start lifting silverware too.
Hopefully, that will happen at Arsenal in the coming years.
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