Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk mocks Arsenal and the British media for their “injury crisis” narrative after the controversial draw. Arsenal restricted the Reds to a 2-2 draw in the Premier League clash with great implications for the title race.
Liverpool struggled to mark their authority in the first half of the game as the host enjoyed an early lead. While Liverpool bounced back immediately with a Van Dijk header to nullify Bukayo Saka’s early goal, Arsenal dictated the half.
However, their second goal by Mike Merino came from an offside position which VAR allowed after a long baffling review. The VAR officials neglected the early angle that clearly showed Merino at the offside position, in favour of one angle.
They refused to draw any line in the absence of semi-automated offside technology that the Premier League is craving for. Liverpool dominated the second half completely and scored another equalizer in the 81st minute from a clinical Mohamed Salah’s finisher.
Arsenal fans and the majority of the British media that favour them are constantly pushing the silly “injury crisis” narrative. The Gunners’ injury list contained only Takehiro Tomiyasu, Martin Odegaard and Riccardo Calafiori before the game at the Emirates Stadium. During the game, Gabriel Magalhaes and Jurrien Timber sustained an injury which forced unwanted substitution for the two defensive players.
Meanwhile, Liverpool visited London without Alisson Becker, Diogo Jota, Harvey Elliott, Federico Chiesa and Conor Bradley. Furthermore, the Reds suffered a severe injury crisis last season which the media shrugged off as “part and parcel” of the game.
Speaking to the media (via the Guardian), Van Dijk rejected the narrative that the media and Arsenal fans are pushing. He said:
“We can keep speaking about them missing players and players going out [during the game] but it’s part of football. I think we also missed certain players.”
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Liverpool will face in-form Brighton & Hove Albion in the Carabao Cup away game while Arsenal plays Championship side Preston North End. Mikel Arteta has spent more than half a billion on his team to compete with Manchester City, compared to Arne Slot who just inherited the squad from Jurgen Klopp and only added Federico Chiesa for the 2024-25 season. Keeping all these factors in mind, Liverpool are already near their Premier League title competitors despite all the privileges they have enjoyed.
