Former Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp has said that Arsenal defender William Saliba reminds him of a young Rio Ferdinand, flattering the 22-year-old for his performance against Manchester City last weekend.

Saliba was key for Arsenal as they defeated Pep Guardiola’s side 1-0 at Emirates.

“I thought Saliba was a different class against [Manchester] City. He man-marked [Erling] Haaland for a lot of the game and honestly, the Norwegian barely had a kick,” Redknapp told Premier League Odd.

“He’s got a bit of everything in his game; he is what I would call a “Rolls-Royce” of a defender. He actually reminds me a bit of Rio when I had him at West Ham, just a class act.”

Saliba, who joined Arsenal from French club Saint-Etienne back in 2019, had spent loans at Saint-Etienne, Nice, and Marseille in the past.