Rio Ferdinand pushed back on claims that William Saliba has been the best defender in the Premier League this season.
The France international was awarded man of the match for his commanding performance in Arsenal's 1-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday (May 12).
It was yet another impressive showing by the 23-year-old, who has established himself as one of the best defenders in the league since making his mark with the north London club last season.
While he's been showered with plaudits and compliments from Gunners' fans, Ferdinand remains sceptical regarding his growing reputation as the best defender in English football - a claim that was made by his Vibe with FIVE co-host Joel Beya.
In response to Beya, the Manchester United legend responded: "I don't think Saliba's been the best Arsenal defender this season, to say he's the best in the league is a stretch I think, Van Dijk's been back to somewhere near his best by the way."
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Ferdinand, 45, then praised the centre-back partnership between Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes as he shared kind words regarding the Brazil international. "As a pair, Saliba and Gabriel have been flawless this year, the best pair out there by a mile," he said. "But this year as an individual, I think Gabriel's probably been slightly above Saliba I'll say in the games that I've seen anyways.
Saliba was awarded man of the match against Manchester United on Sunday (Arsenal FC via Getty Images)"I think Saliba is better on the eye, he's a more cleaner and composed defender 100%, it's just what you like to see sometimes, I think Gabriel's the more aggressive [and] combative [defender], wants the 1v1 duels, goes into challenges and comes out of it.
"He's one of those that wants contact all the time, and he looks really good doing that and I think this season he's been really good at that, [he's] won most of his duels and he hasn't had those kind of red mist moments or moments where he gives away a silly penalty or a silly foul inside the box which he did last year."
While he recognised Saliba's immense quality, he admitted that the former Saint-Etienne star struggled at times in the Champions League this season.
Saliba and Gabriel have been heralded as the best centre-back partnership in the Premier League this season (PA)"That's the area I think he's improved massively this year whereas Saliba has got that coolness about him and sometimes you can just go through games because I think he's that good and I think that he's got a real calmness about his defending," the ex-England captain remarked.
"The only games I've seen him play where I've said 'ooh that's not like Saliba' was the Champions League but I tell you one thing, for a defender, the Champions League is levels up concentration wise than the Premier League and in terms of strikers you're going to be playing against, most of the time you can't make a mistake and get away with it with pace."
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