Arsenal have had some remarkably strong players over the years.
Patrick Vieira was a man mountain in midfield, while Sol Campbell reckons he was stronger than Virgil van Dijk in his pomp.
Meanwhile, Ben White is apparently the strongest player at Arsenal right now, while Myles Lewis-Skelly is built like a tank despite being just 18 years old.
Speaking to Mail Sport, Theo Walcott has now made another interesting claim about another Arsenal player’s strength.
Walcott was tasked with building what he believes to be the ultimate footballer made up of a number of attributes, and when it came to strength, he picked William Saliba.
Theo Walcott says William Saliba is the strongest player he’s seen
Walcott was tasked with building the perfect player.
The pundit was asked to pick a player for strength, and he named Saliba as his answer.
Walcott could’ve picked any player from footballing history. Virgil van Dijk is a popular answer in this category, while Adama Traore is also one of the strongest players around.
However, according to Walcott, Saliba is the strongest player he’s ever seen.
Saliba has been praised for his strength in the past, and he certainly shows his physical ability on the pitch.
Theo Walcott’s perfect player
The pundit hailed Saliba for his strength, and he made a few other interesting Arsenal-related calls when building his perfect player.
Walcott picked Robin van Persie as the player with the best left foot he’s ever seen, while he picked Cesc Fabregas’ footballing IQ.
| Attribute | Theo Walcott’s perfect player |
| Right foot | Steven Gerrard |
| Left foot | Robin van Persie |
| Speed | Theo Walcott |
| Strength | William Saliba |
| Football IQ | Cesc Fabregas |
| Personality | Thierry Henry |
Walcott has praised van Persie’s finishing ability before, while the winger was incredibly successful alongside Fabregas for Arsenal.
Interestingly, the majority of players Walcott picked here do have links to Arsenal other than Steven Gerrard, who, of course, was Walcott’s teammate on the international stage.
Walcott was also asked to pick someone for pace when building this Frankenstein footballer, and, unsurprisingly, he picked himself.
In fairness, the attacker was one of the fastest players around during his heyday, and Walcott reckons he was even faster than Kylian Mbappe in his prime, and that’s a race we’d pay good money to see happen.
