Although we seldom get involved in the running battles, we always pay particular attention to the regularly insightful comments of our readers. And one of the players who Arsenal fans seem to want the most is Celtic defender Virgil van Dijk.
The 23 year old Dutch centre back is a big and mobile defender who looks ready for a big move to England or Spain. And he certainly seems keen. While remaining clearly respectful to his current club, he is quoted as saying:
‘I have recently been thinking a bit about it [his career]. I am now 23 and have played at Willem II, FC Groningen and Celtic and am now linked to clubs like Arsenal. Isn’t that great?
‘If there’s a nice club from England, we have to talk. I want to develop myself as a player, that’s for sure.’
Although the lad hasn’t yet made it to the full international set up for Holland he’s a highly regarded defender and it’s easy to see why. He’s not just big and commanding but has a cultured style and good feet to go with the power. You might say that he’s like a quicker version of the much maligned Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker who, after a decent season last year, has seemingly lost even more pace and looks way too slow for England.
With Arsenal also losing Mathieu Debcuhy for 3 months they really need another solid defender and Van Dijk’s comments may come as a timely reminder to Arsene Wenger that this could be the long term answer to his defensive issues.
Let’s have a look at him in action. Arsenal fans: can he make the step up to The Prem?
Hec
Jan 16, 2015 at 4:17 am
Van Dijk good player in Scottish Football , bit different challenge English Premiership, there’s no Aquero’s Hazards, De Costa’s playing there , so perhaps he can do a job , but to compare him to a 100 plus capped German international centre back is Ludicrous , still good job at talking up a player , wonder what your agenda is.