Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool reacts during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Liverpool at Etihad Stadium on November 09, 2025 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)placeholder image
Virgil van Dijk of Liverpool reacts during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Liverpool at Etihad Stadium on November 09, 2025 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Arsenal are now eight points clear of Liverpool in the Premier League but Virgil van Dijk has fired a defiant warning to Mikel Arteta.
Arsenal have been the bridesmaids in each of the last three seasons and Mikel Arteta will be hoping that this season is finally the one where he shakes off the nearly man tag.
The squad has been built patiently, rather than with an exorbitant summer transfer spend with depth in each department. A lengthy injury list has been managed almost serenely in recent weeks; however, without the summer acquisitions, it might have been a different story. The defensive pairing of Gabriel and William Saliba has provided the foundation for the rest of the team to make the difference in the final third.
Virgil van Dijk warns Arsenal over Premier League title race
With five defeats in their last six Premier League fixtures, Liverpool have completely capitulated from their position as early pace setters. It feels like the season has taken several twists and turns already and yet, there have only been 11 games played. This is why Arteta won’t be carried away, but it is also why Virgil van Dijk feels that his side are far from out of the title race:
“We are not going to give up whatsoever. We are in November and we are ready for a long season and a big fight,” the Dutch defender said after the game.
“The first half was difficult and they were much more comfortable on the ball and it was difficult for our guys to put pressure on them. I don’t think there was a lot of danger, but Doku had a good game and it was difficult for Conor [Bradley] in the one on one at times. I don’t think we were much in trouble but we could have done better. We had to dig deep in the second half. We got more momentum in possession but out pressing wasn’t good enough.”
Did City get a helping hand off the officials?
A draw would have been a great result for Arsenal and it look as though that could have been on the cards with not much difference between the two sides until City put their foot down on the accelerator and ran away with the game. Liverpool though, felt more than a little aggrieved with Van Dijk having a goal disallowed at 1-0 to City late in the first half.
“In football the officials are deciding the key decisions and we have to deal with it on the pitch,” Van Dijk said.
”There is no point discussing this from my point of view. The reality is that we lost 3-0 and that is a big blow. It doesn’t matter what I say [about the goal] because anything I say will be in the media and the whole international break will be about my comment on the decision. I just focus on the fact we lost. You guys can debate if it should have stood.” City might have sent a statement to Arsenal, but they did so with a huge stroke of luck and a helping hand from the officials.
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