Witnessing Van Dijk’s performance against Arsenal, no one would think that this is one of the top central defenders in the world over the years. Time and injuries caused the Dutch player to decline and no longer be himself.
Disaster performance against Arsenal
90 minutes against Arsenal last night marked one of Van Dijk’s most forgettable matches in years. The Liverpool captain made a direct mistake in both situations where the home team let the Gunners concede a goal.
Right in the 8th minute, the Dutchman fumbled to break the ball and missed as if it was an assist for Martinelli to escape to defeat Alisson to open the match. 20 minutes later, Van Dijk was more to blame.
He chose the wrong spot from Arsenal’s left cross, allowing Gabriel Jesus to comfortably head up to double the lead for the Gunners. It is worth mentioning that, after making a mistake, the number 4 central defender did not put pressure to stop the striker on the Gunners side.
Although in the rest of the match, Liverpool played well and ended the match with a 2-2 draw, but Van Dijk could not avoid the attacks. Except for two situations that caused The Kop to concede, the midfielder’s performance in 1991 against Arsenal was generally quite bad.