Matchweek 21 of the Premier League saw Arsenal play out a 0-0 home draw with Liverpool. Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk spoke to Camel Live in an interview.
Conor Bradley left the pitch on crutches and wearing a knee brace. He fell to the ground injured, clearly in great pain, but Gabriel Martinelli attempted to push him off the pitch, sparking a major melee between players of both sides after Liverpool’s away draw against Arsenal.
“Everyone was upset at that moment. Not just a few players, but the entire squad. That is completely understandable, because Conor was still on the pitch at that time, and it was really unseemly to push him off.
You should be able to see clearly from the video replays. For us, everything happened so fast. A long ball came in, Conor contested for it and fell down, and Martinelli naturally pushed him off the pitch, which prompted a reaction from our players.
We all gathered together immediately. We had no idea what was going on at that time, but it didn’t look good, and Martinelli’s actions were disgraceful.
Our focus now is on Conor’s condition. He will undergo a medical examination within the next 24 hours, and we will make corresponding adjustments accordingly.”
Liverpool fought hard to secure a point at Arsenal, extending their unbeaten run to ten matches. Van Dijk admitted that the game was not easy, but he said the team executed an “outstanding” tactical plan.
“First and foremost, our main concern is Conor. We hope his injury is not too serious, but the current situation does not look optimistic. Beyond that, I think our tactical setup was outstanding. We allowed their centre-backs to have possession of the ball because we felt they would struggle to find a way through, which is why they failed to create many chances.
Although it didn’t look great, you can try to take on opponents one-on-one and take certain risks. We all know that a football match lasts 90 minutes, and there will always be periods when we gain control of the ball, and that was exactly the case in the second half.
We were excellent in possession. It felt like we could have got more than just a point, but I am extremely proud of the players, who were up against a team in great form.
No team can maintain such high-intensity running and pressing for 90 minutes like they did in the first 20 to 30 minutes, so we had to keep fighting and force them to come up with ideas they hadn’t thought of. We knew they would deploy midfielders between their centre-backs to try and create opportunities.
The players put in a huge defensive effort, and when we had possession in the second half, we were excellent, finding the right players to make runs between the opposition’s defensive lines.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t create too many clear-cut chances, but considering our current squad situation, missing two senior centre-forwards, the players still put in a fantastic performance, and we will take this point.”
