Arsenal have had some incredible defenders over the years.
Tony Adams is a true Premier League great, while William Saliba is the best defender in the world right now according to some.
Sol Campbell is another legendary defensive figure, and speaking to TalkSPORT, Campbell has been comparing himself to another of the modern-day greats, Virgil van Dijk.
Campbell was asked to compare himself to Van Dijk in a number of key categories, and, interestingly, the former England international actually claimed that he was better than Van Dijk in a number of areas.
Sol Campbell says he was faster and stronger than Virgil van Dijk
Campbell shared his verdict when comparing himself to Van Dijk as a player.
The Arsenal legend stated that he was both stronger and faster than Van Dijk, while he picked himself over the Liverpool captain in a few other key areas.
| Sol Campbell’s answer | |
| Pace | Sol Campbell |
| Strength | Sol Campbell |
| Tackling | Sol Campbell |
| Passing | Virgil van Dijk |
| Aura | Sol Campbell |
| Heading | Sol Campbell |
| Leadership | Virgil van Dijk |
Van Dijk has been hailed for his pace in the past, while Van Dijk is also one of the strongest players around, so this is quite a big claim from Campbell.
Van Dijk is currently on course to captain Liverpool to another league title, while Van Dijk is also set to sign a new contract at Anfield soon.
How fast was Sol Campbell?
Campbell’s claim that he was faster and stronger than Van Dijk may seem a tad egotistical, but there may well be something to this.
Indeed, while there’s no way to go back and judge how strong Campbell was in his prime, in terms of speed, Campbell was indeed one of the fastest players in English football in his prime.
In fact, Campbell was the second-fastest player in the Premier League, even at the age of 34.
Of course, van Dijk is no slouch either, but his top speed this season is around 35 km/h (21.75 mp/h), which isn’t actually as quick as Campbell was even later in his career.
Van Dijk is seen as one of the best defenders of his generation, rightfully so, but, make no mistake about it, Campbell was up there as one of the greatest of his era too.
Campbell would leave Arsenal on a free transfer in 2006, but he would continue to be one of the Premier League’s quickest players well into his 30s.
