Virgil van Dijk says it is beyond his ‘wildest dreams’ that Liverpool are 13 points clear in the Premier League and that even he has no idea whether Trent Alexander-Arnold will be at the club next season.
Asked about his own feelings when Arne Slot arrived last summer, Van Dijk said: ‘I came in from a disappointing Euros, had two and a half weeks off, then came straight in with no preseason so everything was a bit uncertain.
‘But from day one when we started to work, the confidence grew and we saw what we are capable of and what we tried to implement under the new regime.
‘Consistency is the main thing. I think we found it from the start and I think it’s also the most difficult thing to get and keep but we did that well and if I expected 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, I think that’s even past my wildest dreams.
‘We’ve worked so hard to be in this situation and now we have an opportunity to finish it off.’
Liverpool could win the title at Anfield on Sunday against Tottenham but if Arsenal lose to Crystal Palace on Wednesday, Slot’s side will be crowned champions and Van Dijk revealed that he and his teammates are likely to gather together to watch like they did in 2020 when Jurgen Klopp’s side won the league after Manchester City lost at Chelsea.
Virgil van Dijk says it is beyond his ‘wildest dreams’ that Liverpool are 13 points clear at the top
The Reds are on the verge of sealing the Premier League title after beating Leicester
Van Dijk revealed that he and his teammates are likely to gather together to watch Arsenal’s clash with Crystal Palace on Wednesday, with Premier League title celebrations on the line
‘We could be (gathering). I expect Arsenal to win at home but if it doesn’t happen, then it would be nice for us all to be together. However that might look, we’ll discuss in the next couple of days,’ said Van Dijk.
And he hailed Slot and his coaching team for the impact they have had in their first season at Liverpool. ‘I’ve been very impressed with him (Slot),’ said Van Dijk.
‘Since day one, the conversations that I had with him, the demands he has for the team and obviously for me as well, there’s a lot of credit to be given to him.
‘We shouldn’t forget that we already were a team that were fighting up until April last year so we had the quality but we couldn’t finish it off and this year we have found that next level in terms of consistency and finding a way.
‘ But listen, the staff deserve all the credit as well. Coming from Holland – to adapt so quickly, to improve so many players in the way we play, giving confidence in the way we play without a preseason as well and without signings really.
‘Obviously, Federico is the signing in the summer that we made and he’s been a very good addition to the team as well but unfortunately, a bit unlucky with injuries but I think the manager deserves (praise), not only him but the staff as well,’ Van Dijk added.
On the future of Alexander-Arnold, who scored the winner against Leicester, the Liverpool captain said: ‘Whatever may happen in the future, 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. He has been important throughout the whole season and he came back from the injury, a long one, and that’s what I’m happy about.
Van Dijk heaped praise on Arne Slot and his coaching team for the impact they have had
The star says he has no idea whether Trent Alexander-Arnold will be at the club next season
‘He’s back in and amongst us, he’s important and we still have five more games after this so hopefully he can be important for the rest of the games.
‘Since I joined the club, he has been a fantastic player and there’s a lot of good things that he will always be remembered for if he decides to leave. But listen, at this point we don’t know as a group what’s going to happen.’
Van Dijk insisted too that he hasn’t asked Alexander-Arnold about his future too, with the 26-year’s contract set to expire this summer.
‘I think he’s under a lot of pressure already so there’s no point for me to put him on the spot,’ he said. ‘I think 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 obviously been.
‘For us as players, we want to win games and he’s been important throughout the whole season. He’s been important for all the years that we have been together. There’s still games to go and we need to have the best Trent Alexander-Arnold and whatever happens in the future, that’s life and football and we’ll see.
‘There’s a lot of noise around him and everyone can argue if it’s his own fault but 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.
‘So I think he deserved that moment and now it’s back to work and to be ready for the weekend,’ the 33-year-old added.
On his own contract situation, which came to an end last week when Van Dijk put pen to paper on a new two-year deal, the centre-half said: ‘I’ve heard so many things that I signed and I didn’t sign or that I was in contact with so many clubs. I was in negotiations up until the last month and we found a way. For me, there was only one club. That was Liverpool and I’m really proud to extend another two years.’
