"You don’t really see him smiling too much" - Ian Wright on Virgil van Dijk's mentality

Former Arsenal forward Ian Wright has recently been talking about Liverpool centre-back Virgil van Dijk.

The 58-year-old waxed lyrical about the Dutchman's mentality. Wright implied that Van Dijk is one of the more driven players in the game.

The ex-England international also spoke about Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne in the same light.

“They are unbelievable players,” Wright told the Premier League Season Review (24/05/22 at 3:15 pm). “And they are unbelievably driven players.

“They never stop pushing the team on at any stage of the game. You look at Kevin de Bruyne, he is very serious in the game all the time. You don’t really see him smiling too much.

“The same with Van Dijk because we are talking about two leaders, who know they can’t afford to lose a game.

“That’s why you need players like them because they aren’t going to let you rest.”

Anfield Watch Verdict

Van Dijk is one of the best players in the Premier League, and there is a reason why that is the case. Sure, there is no denying that he is extremely talented.

But, talent only gets you so far. Van Dijk is clearly a driven individual. He wants to improve all the time.

As Wright said, you can see it in Van Dijk's face when he plays. The defender is a brilliant role model for the younger generation.

On another note, we (the Anfield faithful) doubt that we will see a centre-back as good as Van Dijk ever again.

Back in 2019, he was named the runner-up for the Ballon d'Or, which provides an insight into how good he is.

Hopefully Van Dijk can continue his good form against Real Madrid in the Champions League final on Saturday.