Virgil van Dijk did not agree that Arsenal were dealing with some sort of injury crisis during their Premier League draw with Liverpool.
An engaging contest at Emirates Stadium on Sunday ended 2-2, with the visitors twice coming from behind to earn a point at the home of their title rivals.
Van Dijk's headed cancelled out an early goal from Bukayo Saka, before Mikel Merino restored Arsenal's lead before halftime. Yet the Gunners could not hold on to their advantage, Mohamed Salah netting Liverpool's second equaliser with around nine minutes of normal time remaining.
The home side were without the suspended William Saliba and lost their other first-choice centre-back, Gabriel, to an apparent muscle issue when leading 2-1 in the second half. Jurrien Timber, who had missed their past two league games, went off after 76 minutes after earlier struggling with cramp.
According to Opta, the game marked the first time Arsenal have had neither Saliba nor Gabriel on the pitch in a Premier League game since May 2023.
Van Dijk did not seem to agree that the North Londoners were particularly badly affected by injuries, especially since Liverpool were themselves missing first-choice goalkeeper Alisson, striker Diogo Jota, Federico Chiesa, Conor Bradley and Harvey Elliott for this fixture.
MORE: All the latest Liverpool news | Premier League schedule for 2024/25 | Latest Premier League top scorer rankings
Virgil van Dijk comments on Arsenal's injury problems
When asked by Sky Sports if Arsenal had become more anxious after seeing "another player injured", Van Dijk retorted: "'Another player injured'? Well, I think they only had two injuries today.
"Obviously, they played a very, very strong team. It's part of the game. We were pushing and deservedly scored an equaliser."
Former Arsenal forward Theo Walcott agreed that Arsenal's team was a strong one, although he felt Liverpool could have done more to win the game in the second half.
"He's right. Arsenal weren't missing many of their starting players today," he said of Van Dijk's remarks.
"This was an opportunity for Liverpool to show what they're made of, and what I found disappointing was a lack of intensity when they had Arsenal on the ropes. Arsenal were dropping back: they allowed the pressure, they were happy to take the 2-1."
