Madueke names Van Dijk as his toughest opponent ever: He’s just so big and fast...

Madueke names Van Dijk as his toughest opponent ever: He’s just so big and fast...

Arsenal winger Noni Madueke has named Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk as the toughest opponent he's faced.

Turning 35 years of age in July, Van Dijk is still leading the Liverpool side in what has been a very tough season for the Premier League champions.

Since arriving at Anfield in January 2018 for what was then a world-record fee for a defender, the Dutchman has won it all with the Reds, and he was at the very heart of it all.

Virgil van Dijk has played 4,671 minutes in 52 appearances for Liverpool during the 2025/26 season across all competitions and has played more minutes than any other player in Europe’s top 5 leagues.

The Dutchman is still formidable and nearly impossible to beat. Arsenal’s Madueke, speaking ahead of the West Ham clash on Sunday afternoon, picked Van Dijk as the toughest player he has come up against.

"I would probably say Virgil van Dijk. He’s just so big and fast so it’s difficult to get in behind him. I would probably say him, for sure.

“Playing against players like that is good competition, you want to test yourself against the best, that’s the mindset you have to have going into the game. It’s football at the highest level so it’s definitely fun to test yourself against those type of players."

Despite this praise, Liverpool are getting ready to wave goodbye to two other club legends in Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson. Reports suggest Van Dijk could join the pair alongside Alisson Becker in what is a very dramatic squad change ahead of the new season.