Jamie O’Hara didn’t hesitate when asked who’s better between Arsenal William Saliba and Spurs Mickey Van de Ven
Tottenham beat Manchester United 3-0 at the weekend in their most impressive performance of the season so far.
The north London club have had a slow start to this Premier League season, but everything seemed to click into gear on Sunday as they dominated Manchester United.
Micky van de Ven was at the heart of Spurs’ victory. The Dutchman went on an incredible run to assist Brennan Johnson’s opening goal, while he was imperious at the back throughout the entire game.
Speaking on TalkSPORT, Jamie O’Hara has been discussing Van de Ven’s brilliance, and he’s made quite the claim about the £34m defender.
Indeed, O’Hara says that Van de Ven is the best centre-back in the world right now, rating him higher than Arsenal’s William Saliba.
Micky van de Ven is better than William Saliba
O’Hara spoke highly of the Dutchman.
“He is unbelievable. I would go as far as to say the best centre-half in the world right now. He is better than Saliba. He has got way more than Saliba. Saliba is brilliant. He is fantastic. Don’t get me wrong. Great centre-half,” O’Hara said.
“But don’t tell me Saliba has proved it. He has won nothing. Van de Ven is better than Saliba right now. Van de Ven is the best centre-half in the world right now.
“Right now on form, he walks into any team. He gets into Liverpool’s team, he gets into Real Madrid’s team, he gets in Manchester City’s team, he walks into any team in the world.”
Micky Van de Ven vs William Saliba
This is an interesting debate, but it’s not necessarily one we can get on board with.
Yes, Van de Ven can do unbelievable things, such as run the full length of the pitch, but being a centre-back is all about defending.
Arsenal had the best defensive record in England for a reason last year, while Tottenham were, at one point, conceding two goals a game on average.
Spurs and Arsenal are chalk and cheese from a defensive standpoint, and, for that reason, there’s a stronger case to make that Saliba is the better player.
