Rio Ferdinand names the 12 footballers he considers world class right now

Manchester United great Rio Ferdinand has labelled 12 footballers as world class, asserting that Arsenal star Bukayo Saka still has a long way to go to reach the elite level.

Ahead of Arsenal's UEFA Champions League last-16 first leg tie away at Porto this Wednesday (February 21), Ferdinand included eight Premier League players in his elite list. He named Manchester City quintet Ederson, Kyle Walker, Rodri, Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland, and Liverpool troika Alisson Becker, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah.

During his pre-match chat with TNT Sports, Ferdinand also mentioned Paris Saint-Germain (PSG)'s Kylian Mbappe, Bayern Munich's Harry Kane, and Real Madrid's Vinicius Jr. The 45-year-old also included Los Blancos midfielder Jude Bellingham in his list of 12 players.

However, the ex-Manchester United centre-back suggested that Bellingham is not properly in his list of world class players due to his nascent age. He elaborated (h/t Metro):

"They've actually got that list a little bit wrong because Bellingham was on the list a little below that on his own. He's edging into there but the thing that means he's not on that list for now is time. He will be there. He's in world class form, he just needs that time."

Commenting on Saka, the six-time Premier League winner concluded:

"That's why I say Saka has got that world-class potential but he just hasn't been exposed to the knockout stages of the Champions League or the longevity. The other players on that list, they've played in the top prestigious games and they've produced in those moments, or they've done ridiculous things over a long period of time."

Mikel Arteta shares thoughts on Arsenal's 1-0 Champions League last-16 loss at Porto

After topping Group B with 13 points from six matches, Arsenal visited the Estadio Do Dragao for their first UEFA Champions League knockout tie since March 2017. They slumped to a 1-0 last-16 first leg defeat following Galeno's injury time winner this Wednesday.

At a post-match press conference, Gunners manager Mikel Arteta claimed that his side will learn from their mistakes and bounce back in the second leg on March 12 this year. He said (h/t Sportstar):

"We dominated the game but we lacked purpose, especially in the first half, to have much more aggression, to break lines, to play forward, to generate much more threat in their backline. In the second half, there were much better things and we generated a lot without really creating much from it, but we'll learn from it."

Arsenal, who failed to register a shot on target against Porto, will next be in action against eighth-placed Newcastle United in their Premier League home contest this Saturday (February 24).