Virgil van Dijk isn’t sugarcoating it—he wants Liverpool ready for a real battle when they head to Arsenal on Thursday. The Reds’ captain says this is exactly the kind of match that should get everyone fired up, especially with their unbeaten streak on the line.

Sunday’s draw at Fulham still stings a bit. Harrison Reed pulled off a last-minute screamer to tie it at 2-2, just after Cody Gakpo’s goal looked like it had wrapped up the win for Liverpool. That result makes two straight draws in 2026.

Now, Liverpool faces the team everyone’s chasing—Arsenal. Mikel Arteta’s squad is six points clear of Manchester City and a big fourteen points ahead of Liverpool, who hold third, three points above Chelsea.

Van Dijk isn’t letting the setback at Fulham drag them down. He wants the squad in the right mindset for the trip to the Emirates. “We’ll shake this off, and from Tuesday we’ll start focusing on what Arsenal does well. They’ve got quality all over the pitch—starting and off the bench,” he said.

He knows the challenge ahead. “They haven’t lost at home this season, in any competition. That makes it a great test, and we need to be up for it. I can’t wait, honestly. Everyone should be looking forward to games like this. It’s another big chance for us.”

As it stands, Liverpool sits three points ahead of Chelsea, who managed a late draw against Manchester City thanks to Enzo Fernández. Van Dijk sees the Fulham result as proof that the Premier League is tougher than ever.

“The second half was good. We did everything we could to win and really pushed hard. Playing here is never easy, and yeah, it’s disappointing to concede a goal like that at the end. But that’s football,” he said.

“That’s the Premier League for you. Every game’s a grind. Fulham has made it tough for a lot of teams this season—today was no different.

“We found our urgency in the second half, got ourselves back into it, but then lost it in the final seconds. That hurts.”

He admits it’s easy to focus on the negatives after a result like this, but he wants the team looking ahead. “You have to find the positives and take them into the next match. That’s just how it is.

“Honestly, if you look at the squad, Gakpo had to fill in up front, and we had five midfielders behind him. That’s the reality right now. But we keep fighting. We keep moving. Arsenal’s up next.”

Florian Wirtz figured he was offside when he scored that hotly debated goal in Liverpool’s wild 2-2 draw with Fulham. Arne Slot’s side had been chasing the game after Harry Wilson put Fulham ahead in the first half, but Wirtz got Liverpool back on level terms just before the hour.

Right after he scored, the linesman’s flag shot up. Wirtz looked offside when Conor Bradley slid the ball through to him. Even the replays seemed to back that up. But after a VAR check, the referee gave the goal.

Wirtz didn’t even celebrate at first. “I was sure it was offside, so I didn’t celebrate. I was happy to score, but honestly, I’d rather have the three points.”

Liverpool almost snatched all three when Cody Gakpo scored four minutes into stoppage time. But then Harrison Reed stepped up, grabbed the ball 30 yards out, and smashed it into the top corner just three minutes later. An absolute rocket.

Wirtz didn’t hide his frustration. “Not satisfied at all. We need points, and we wanted three points today. There’s no easy game in this league.

“We stepped it up in the second half. The intensity was much better. In the first half, our pressing was off, but after halftime, we improved.”

Talking about Reed’s goal, Wirtz just shook his head. “What can you say? It was unbelievable. You can’t save that.

“Normally, shots like that don’t go in. Maybe the actions before could’ve been better. It came from a throw-in, so we need to be sharper.

“We’re in a tough spot—two draws in a row. That’s not what we want. We have to get better, but it’s still a process.”

Arne Slot didn’t try to sugarcoat it. “If it had ended 1-1, I’d still be disappointed, but to be 2-1 up in stoppage time and then concede... it hurts.

“That shot was incredible. At 1-1, we brought Chiesa on to go for the win and then got ourselves ahead, but then we had to defend a long throw.

“We put Gomez on because he’s strong in the air, but they went short instead of long, and then—bang—what a strike.

“It’s not the first time this season we’ve let goals in at the very end. We’ve dropped so many points like this.

“It’s tough. Frustrating, too, that their first real chance went in. That’s happened before. They had another when Alisson was out, and they hit the bar, but apart from that, we kept it pretty tight away from home.

“We didn’t create loads of chances either, to be honest. Right before their first goal, we had a similar chance and almost scored.

“It keeps happening—just not enough. We’ve relied on luck all season, good and bad, and that has to change.

“We need to reach a point where a last-minute shot doesn’t mean we drop points. That’s our focus, but we’re not there yet.

“I liked the second half a lot more than the first. We controlled things, created chances—two disallowed goals, hit the bar, and scored one. That’s what you want, especially with so many attacking players missing.

“Sometimes, these guys deserve a break, but we’re not getting it. In the end, we can only blame ourselves.”