Virgil van Dijk makes Arsenal confession as clear message sent to Liverpool dressing room
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Daily Mirror IconSportFootballVirgil van DijkLiverpool captain Virgil van Dijk gave a very honest assessment of Arsenal after the Reds' 1-0 win over Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday nightLiverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has pointed to Arsenal's defensive record as the benchmark for success following his side's victory over Real Madrid in the Champions League. At Anfield, Liverpool claimed all three points with a 1-0 win over Real thanks to a second-half header from Alexis Mac Allister.The result also represented a second successive clean sheet for Liverpool, whilst Arsenal have now recorded eight in a row of their own following their success in Prague.Arsenal maintain a seven-point advantage over Liverpool in the Premier League standings, as well as holding a six-point cushion over second-placed Manchester City, reports football.london.READ MORE: Spanish media turn on Real Madrid with ruthless verdict after Liverpool lossREAD MORE: Arsenal injury latest as Mikel Arteta handed Viktor Gyokeres update amid Gabriel concernSpeaking following Liverpool's victory over Real Madrid, Van Dijk admitted he views Arsenal's defensive record as his side's own target, revealing how the Reds dressing room genuinely regards their title challengers.“That is the basis of success at the moment.
I think that you can see that Arsenal are flying and that is down to clean sheets and not conceding chances," said Van Dijk post-match in an interview with Amazon Prime Sport.“I think that’s what we had as well and now what we are trying to do consistently - start with defending. Against Villa, we didn't create too many open [play] chances, but we managed to find the win, and we have to keep going.“Sunday [vs Manchester City] is going to be another difficult one and so we have to be ready for that as well.”This weekend marks the return of Premier League action, with the final round of fixtures before the November international break.Arsenal are set to take on Sunderland at the Stadium of Light this Saturday, while title contenders Liverpool and Manchester City will face off at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content.
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