Reaction'That's the feeling' - Virgil van Dijk's verdict on Arsenal 2-2 Liverpool
The Reds No.4 – who wore the captain’s armband at the club for the 100th time – headed in from close range to equalise Bukayo Saka’s opener during the first half of the Premier League showdown at Emirates Stadium.
Mikel Merino restored the Gunners’ advantage just shy of the interval, but the visitors were on top for much of the second period and levelled it up once more courtesy of a flowing attack finished by Mohamed Salah.
Providing his immediate reaction to Sky Sports, Van Dijk said: “It’s a very tough place to come, obviously teams have noticed that over the years. They created a solid team and make it difficult for everyone.
“Obviously it was difficult for them as well. I think to come back twice is a good thing. We take the point and we move [forward], that’s the feeling now.”
He added: “You play here in London, they have the fans behind [them], they created some momentum of course, scoring the 2-1.
“You have to be ready to fight, and that was the message anyway before the game because we will have difficult moments, tough moments. Like I said, one point, we take it and we move now to the Carabao Cup.”
Asked for his analysis of what changed in Liverpool’s performance from first half to second half, the Netherlands international replied: “I think we kept the ball a little bit longer.
“That was problematic, in my opinion, in the first half. We couldn’t keep the ball longer than five times. Obviously it was a good press from them but I think if we kept the ball longer we could have created a little bit more momentum.
“The second half, we kept it longer. Obviously we didn’t create loads of chances but we were much more dominant, winning second balls and trying and trying and trying. Obviously it was a great goal [from Salah].”
Van Dijk’s second goal of the campaign gave Arne Slot’s men their first equaliser of the evening, the centre-back nodding home when Luis Diaz glanced on Trent Alexander-Arnold’s set-piece delivery.
“It’s a little bit of luck that you need, a little flick from Lucho and I was there to tap it in,” he said of the effort.
“I try to just be important in every set-piece that we have, and obviously try to not concede – and we did that, so that’s very disappointing.”