Virgil van Dijk's rise from Celtic to the Premier League's finest defender has been quite remarkable.

Ever since the competition's inception in 1992, few centre-backs have dominated the division quite like the colossal Dutchman.

His signing from Southampton in January 2018 has completely changed Liverpool as a team.

Gone are the days of a leaky back-line, with Jurgen Klopp's side now the most formidable defensive unit in the league.

The fact they've only lost one game and conceded 20 goals all season is mostly down to Van Dijk's presence and leadership, earning him a place on the PFA Player of the Year shortlist.

So it's quite ridiculous to think that some the Dutchman's personal statistics pale in comparison to Arsenal laughing stock Shkodran Mustafi.

However, one Arsenal fan has proved that on paper, the German is actually bettering Van Dijk in a number of key personal departments in 2018/19.

You can view the tweet below and the information is backed up by the Premier League's official statistics on both Van Dijk and Mustafi.

DON'T ALWAYS TRUST THE STATS...

More tackles, a higher tackle success rate, more interceptions and the same number of headed goals.

Mustafi has even made seven less appearances than Van Dijk so far this season...

The Dutchman has also made one error leading to a goal according to the Premier League, with Mustafi on zero - they clearly were not watching the Crystal Palace game.

It's yet more proof that some statistics can prove meaningless when analysing two players.

Liverpool's ability to control games and keep things tight at the back means that Van Dijk is not forced into making unnecessary tackles and interceptions.

As for headed goals, Van Dijk actually has three for the season anyway, one more than Mustafi.

Oh, and he also has an assist to his name as well.

Don't always listen to the number, folks.