Virgil van Dijk makes prediction for potential Arsenal vs Crystal Palace title decider
Virgil van Dijk will watch Arsenal’s game against Crystal Palace with the rest of the Liverpool squad (Picture: Getty) Liverpool’s squad will be together tomorrow evening to watch coverage of Arsenal’s game against Crystal Palace hoping for a shock result that would confirm Arne Slot’s side as Premier League champions. Sunday’s nervy 1-0 win over Leicester City put the runaway leaders within touching distance of a triumph that has appeared inevitable since the turn of the year. Should Arsenal lose against the Eagles tomorrow night, the Reds will be crowned champions ahead of Sunday’s likely coronation at Anfield. Van Dijk, however, admits he doesn’t expect the Gunners to slip-up against a side who could be forgiven for having more than one eye on this weekend’s FA Cup semi-final. ‘I expect Arsenal to win at home but, yeah, if it doesn’t happen then I think it would be nice to be together,’ said the Liverpool skipper. Get personalised updates on Arsenal everyday Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro’s Football Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link we’ll send you so we can get football news tailored to you. ‘So however that may look, we will discuss in the next couple of days. But if Arsenal just win that game, as they probably expect they will do against a very good Crystal Palace, then we have to do our job at the weekend.’ While Arsenal have suffered more than most with injuries this season, it is doubtful they would have been able to keep pace with a relentless Liverpool team, regardless. Slot’s side have lost just twice in the league all season and demonstrated a level of consistency that nobody else has been able to live with. Liverpool are within touching distance of being crowned Premier League champions (Picture: Getty) ‘From day one when we started to work, obviously confidence grew, we saw what we are capable of, what we try to implement under the new regime and consistency is the main thing,’ the 33-year-old centre back said. ‘[Did I expect] us to be in this position now? No. And not because I don’t believe in the boys. But it’s more that I think to be 13 points clear at this stage of the season, that’s even past my wildest dreams. ‘But that’s the situation. We’ve worked so hard to be in this situation and now we have an opportunity to finish off.’ Once the dust settles on this season’s success, attention will quickly turn to the summer transfer window with Liverpool hoping to build a squad capable of defending their crown. Trent Alexander-Arnold could leave Liverpool at the end of the season (Picture: Getty) The decisions of Van Dijk and Mohamed Salah to extend their contracts as certainly added to the feelgood factor in the red half of Merseyside but the future of Trent Alexander-Arnold remains up in the air. Real Madrid appear almost certain to sign the England international, who scored his side’s emotional winner last weekend, on a free transfer but Van Dijk insists he won’t put any additional stress on his teammate by trying to convince him to stay. He said: ‘He was under a lot of pressure already so there’s no point for me to put him on the spot. Trent Alexander-Arnold on his future ‘I have said all season that I am not going to speak on my situation. I am not going to go into the details,’ he said after he scored the winning goal in Sunday’s 1-0 victory over Leicester City. ‘But days like today are always special. Scoring goals, playing games, winning games, winning titles – they are special moments for me and I am glad to do my part.’ ‘We forget that we are dealing with a human being. Sometimes he goes through so many moments in the last couple of months and everyone will have an opinion on the way he’s been. ‘There’s a lot of noise around him and everyone can argue if it’s his own fault. It’s just part of life nowadays. So when he scores a big goal like that, I think he deserves applause for stepping up in that particular moment and to soak it all in because, whether he stays or leaves, these are moments which you shouldn’t take for granted to give us as a team the opportunity on Sunday to finish it off. ‘Whatever may happen in the future for him, that’s something that he has to resolve with himself and the family. But he’s a Liverpool player at this point and he’s important for our team.’
Liverpool’s squad will be together tomorrow evening to watch coverage of Arsenal’s game against Crystal Palace hoping for a shock result that would confirm Arne Slot’s side as Premier League champions.
Sunday’s nervy 1-0 win over Leicester City put the runaway leaders within touching distance of a triumph that has appeared inevitable since the turn of the year.
Should Arsenal lose against the Eagles tomorrow night, the Reds will be crowned champions ahead of Sunday’s likely coronation at Anfield.
Van Dijk, however, admits he doesn’t expect the Gunners to slip-up against a side who could be forgiven for having more than one eye on this weekend’s FA Cup semi-final.
‘I expect Arsenal to win at home but, yeah, if it doesn’t happen then I think it would be nice to be together,’ said the Liverpool skipper.
Get personalised updates on Arsenal everyday
Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro’s Football Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link we’ll send you so we can get football news tailored to you.
‘So however that may look, we will discuss in the next couple of days. But if Arsenal just win that game, as they probably expect they will do against a very good Crystal Palace, then we have to do our job at the weekend.’
While Arsenal have suffered more than most with injuries this season, it is doubtful they would have been able to keep pace with a relentless Liverpool team, regardless.
Slot’s side have lost just twice in the league all season and demonstrated a level of consistency that nobody else has been able to live with.
‘From day one when we started to work, obviously confidence grew, we saw what we are capable of, what we try to implement under the new regime and consistency is the main thing,’ the 33-year-old centre back said.
‘[Did I expect] us to be in this position now? No. And not because I don’t believe in the boys. But it’s more that I think to be 13 points clear at this stage of the season, that’s even past my wildest dreams.
‘But that’s the situation. We’ve worked so hard to be in this situation and now we have an opportunity to finish off.’
Once the dust settles on this season’s success, attention will quickly turn to the summer transfer window with Liverpool hoping to build a squad capable of defending their crown.
The decisions of Van Dijk and Mohamed Salah to extend their contracts as certainly added to the feelgood factor in the red half of Merseyside but the future of Trent Alexander-Arnold remains up in the air.
Real Madrid appear almost certain to sign the England international, who scored his side’s emotional winner last weekend, on a free transfer but Van Dijk insists he won’t put any additional stress on his teammate by trying to convince him to stay.
He said: ‘He was under a lot of pressure already so there’s no point for me to put him on the spot.
Trent Alexander-Arnold on his future
‘I have said all season that I am not going to speak on my situation. I am not going to go into the details,’ he said after he scored the winning goal in Sunday’s 1-0 victory over Leicester City.
‘But days like today are always special. Scoring goals, playing games, winning games, winning titles – they are special moments for me and I am glad to do my part.’
‘We forget that we are dealing with a human being. Sometimes he goes through so many moments in the last couple of months and everyone will have an opinion on the way he’s been.
‘There’s a lot of noise around him and everyone can argue if it’s his own fault. It’s just part of life nowadays. So when he scores a big goal like that, I think he deserves applause for stepping up in that particular moment and to soak it all in because, whether he stays or leaves, these are moments which you shouldn’t take for granted to give us as a team the opportunity on Sunday to finish it off.
‘Whatever may happen in the future for him, that’s something that he has to resolve with himself and the family. But he’s a Liverpool player at this point and he’s important for our team.’
