William Saliba has claimed he only has one shortcoming holding him back from being the best defender in the world.
The Arsenal star has been a rock at the back since becoming a mainstay in Mikel Arteta’s side in the 2022-23 season.
Last season Arsenal had the best defence in the Premier League with Saliba playing every single minute as he and Gabriel solidified their watertight partnership.
Many football fans would consider Virgil van Dijk and Ruben Dias to be up there but Saliba believes he can be the outright best with one addition to his repertoire.
‘I’m perhaps on my way to becoming the best defender in the world,’ Saliba told Fox Sports Mexico.
William Saliba believes only one factor is stopping him from being the world’s best defender
The Arsenal star named his lack of titles as the barrier between him and global superiority
‘I have been on the right track for both seasons, mainly last season.
‘I think I’m one of the best at the moment, but to say that I have to win some titles. I think that’s what I’m missing right now.
‘If you win titles, you’re good and if you don’t, you can’t say you’re the best.
‘That’s what I believe. I’m one of the best in the world.’
His only two pieces of silverware to date are the 2020 and 2023 Community Shield trophies.
This weekend will provide a stern test of his credentials as Arsenal travel to league leaders Manchester City on Sunday.
Erling Haaland has scored nine goals in four games – more than any other team’s entire haul.
In the last three games he has scored eight and he came so close to becoming the first man since Jack Balmer for Liverpool in 1946 to score three consecutive hat-tricks in England’s top flight, but he could ‘only’ score twice against Brentford at the weekend.
A trip to Manchester City this weekend will perhaps give him the toughest test of his claim
Erling Haaland is already on nine goals for the season but Arsenal kept him quiet last campaign
Last season Arsenal did manage to deny Haaland, keeping two clean sheets in the Premier League.
And Saliba knows the main mountain to overcome to achieve his goal of titles is to get the better of Pep Guardiola’s machine over the course of a season.
He added: ‘Of course, we want to compete against Manchester City as we have done [in] the last two seasons but we know we have to do more.
‘As I said, we have to compete against City but we also have to do it against the other teams because it’s not just against City.
‘If you win against them but not against others it doesn’t mean anything. So, of course we want to win this weekend and we will give everything to win but it’s not the end on Sunday.’
