Liverpool central defender Virgil van Dijk was clearly impressed with what he saw from Arsenal youngster William Saliba on Friday night - that's if his Instagram activity is anything to go by.
The Netherlands international quickly followed Saliba on the social media platform after the Frenchman put in a faultless display away at Crystal Palace on what was his Premier League debut. Three years after he first put pen to paper on a deal in the red half of north London, Arsenal fans finally got a glimpse of Saliba's talent and he did not disappoint.
At just 21 years of age, the centre-back was not phased by the cauldron of noise that Selhurst Park can be and displayed the kind of composure on and off the ball that defied his years. Another Liverpool legend in Jamie Carragher selected Saliba as his man of the match during Arsenal's hard-fought 2-0 win.
Come full-time with the clean sheet secured, the Arsenal defender admitted he was overjoyed to have finally played for the Gunners in a competitive clash. Saliba told Sky Sports: "It's been a long time I’ve waited for this moment, I'm so happy to start my first game with a win and a clean sheet.
"It's never easy, you have to give your maximum and it was good. It's the first game, it's important to win for the confidence and to start the season well." The Gunners' handling of Saliba has led them to come in for some criticism at times over the last few years.
Since first joining Arsenal while they still had Unai Emery at the helm, Saliba has endured three separate loan spells - all of which have come back in his home country of France. The most recent saw him don the Marseille shirt and he even managed to win the Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year award in the process.
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While all the loan moves have sparked backlash at times, the man himself has actually praised the way the Gunners have helped his development. "It [the loans] helped me because I'm young, I need to play. Now I'm back, I hope we will have a good season," Saliba added.
Arteta was in equally high spirits after the game and took the opportunity presented with his post-match media duties to heap praise on Saliba.
"You don't really see that at 21 years old, a debut in the Premier League against this opponent, these physical players and resolve the situation the way he’s done it with that composure, with that calmness and with that presence. Big credit to the boy," the Spaniard claimed.
