Van Dijk not impressed by Arsenal’s self-spun injury narratives as Liverpool battle to get a 2-2 draw after falling behind twice.
Van Dijk said “It goes both ways” as he reflected on his off-the-ball clash with Arsenal’s Kai Havertz in the opening exchanges.
Virgil Van Dijk was eager to implement this idea more widely, considering which team had experienced the worst player shortages.
“We can keep speaking about them missing players and players going out [during the game]. But it’s part of football,” the Liverpool captain said. “I think we also missed certain players.”
Van Dijk stopped suddenly after that, and it’s safe to say he conveyed his point because of his huge, deadpan features. Arsenal “only had two players injured [beforehand] … they played a very, very strong team,” he had previously told television reporters.
On an off note, Van Dijk could be forgiven for ignoring Takehiro Tomiyasu and concentrating more on Martin Ødegaard and Riccardo Calafiori if the number was indeed three. In addition, Gabriel Magalhães and Jurriën Timber would have to leave Arsenal, while William Saliba was suspended.
Van Dijk was retaliating against the idea that Mikel Arteta’s bare-bones Arsenal would rally for a valiant draw. Liverpool had been without Conor Bradley, Harvey Elliott, Federico Chiesa, Diogo Jota, and Alisson due to injury. Furthermore, it was easy to sense the frustration.
Van Dijk’s perception of the Havertz flashpoint was no different. He had shoved his opponent and used his heel to shoot two kicks at him. Havertz felt the second and fell to the ground. Van Dijk took a gamble, and it’s not hard to think that the VAR would have told referee Andrew Taylor to trot to the pitchside monitor. Taylor saw everything as it was and just offered a free kick.
“Yeah well, you know, it’s a physical game,” Van Dijk said. “These things happen. I think if you watch the battles that we have during the games anyway, it goes both ways. That’s part and parcel of the game. That’s it.”
Van Dijk appeared to be the first to get his revenge. But if he didn’t try to project an angelic image, then Arsenal couldn’t either, according to the general consensus. Not everything is against them all the time. They are unable to have both.
Five weeks have passed since Arsenal’s tense 2-2 draw with Manchester City, in which they were charged with using the black arts to maintain a 2-1 lead after Leandro Trossard was sent off. This included players rushing to the ground with cramps, delaying tactics, and doing everything else to disrupt the game’s rhythm.
With the home team leading 2-1 at the 66-minute mark, Slot saw Arsenal’s goalie, David Raya, booked for time-wasting. When Timber suffered a cramp in the 72nd minute, he was unable to conceal his annoyance. He told his defender Ibrahima Konaté, that it was a “fucking joke.” Slot said that the reason he was given the yellow card was because the fourth official believed he had made the remark about him.
After you have retaliated twice, it always seems like a better point. The case is over when it takes place at the home of a direct competitor and you have lost the last two league games.
“People spoke about that if you lose, you will lose the league. They have absolutely no clue in my opinion,” Van Dijk said. “The season is so, so long. The team that sets a very good foundation before December and then goes through December in the best way possible, without any injuries and good results, has a good chance to be top of the league.”