A lot was made of Arsenal‘s injury ‘issues’ heading into the match against Liverpool, and Virgil van Dijk rightly questioned the rhetoric after the 2-2 draw.
If you listened to Arsenal fans in the buildup to Sunday’s game, you would have assumed they faced an injury crisis akin to what the Reds experienced at the start of 2024.
They, in fact, were missing just two regulars due to injury (Martin Odegaard and Riccardo Calafiori) after Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber miraculously recovered to start.
The Gunners were missing William Saliba due to suspension but the situation was not as dire as some would lead you to believe, and Van Dijk was just as puzzled when speaking after the match.
When asked if Liverpool sensed the hosts’ mentality changed when Gabriel was forced off to make it another player injured, Van Dijk was visibly taken back.
“Another player injured?” the Reds’ captain questioned. “Well, I think they only had two injuries today, isn’t it?
?? “Another player injured? I think they only had two…”
Virgil van Dijk shares his thoughts after Liverpool’s draw at Arsenal ? pic.twitter.com/kgjG0R80CS
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 27, 2024
“Yeah [we’ve got our own]. So obviously they played a very, very strong team, and it’s part of the game. We were obviously pushing, and I think deservedly the score equaliser.”
It is bewildering how quickly Arsenal‘s squad situation snowballed, especially considering Liverpool were also without two of their first-choice players in Alisson and Diogo Jota.
Nevertheless, the Gunners could not stop Liverpool from equalising twice, and Van Dijk pointed out how time in possession led to improvement from Arne Slot‘s side after halftime.
“I think we kept the ball a little bit longer,” Van Dijk explained. “I think there was a problem, in my opinion, the first half, we couldn’t keep the ball long enough.
“I think it was a good press from them, but I think if we kept the ball longer, we could created a little bit more momentum.
“In the second half, we kept it longer and, obviously, we didn’t create loads of chances, but obviously we were much more dominant and winning the second balls and trying and trying.
“One point, we take it and we move now to the Carabao Cup.”
