Arne Slot has dismissed any notion that Liverpool clinching the Premier League title this season would be insufficient. The Reds are poised to edge closer to their 20th top-flight championship when they lock horns with Fulham on Sunday. But captain Virgil van Dijk found himself correcting ex-Liverpool striker Michael Owen in a recent interview following their victory over Everton.
Owen suggested that the Reds were shaping up for “something really special” until their Champions League last-16 exit to PSG and Carabao Cup final defeat to Newcastle, a comment which Van Dijk took issue with. He responded: “So you’re suggesting this season is not going to be special anymore? I think we have to change that narrative a little bit. We’re fighting for the biggest prize of the season. It’s still looking very special in my eyes. It’s still a possibility that this season will be very, very special.”
And asked about the exchange, Slot said: “Let me understand it right, Virgil was a bit frustrated because it came across as it’s not enough to ONLY win the Premier League? Michael did play for us didn’t he? So he is aware of the fact that in 35 years we won the league once? There is your answer.
“If you can win the league with this club then, phew, nothing else matters I would say. If you do it ten times in a row then I could understand that people say ‘Oh but you only win the Premier League.’ If [Manchester] City only won the Premier League then I could understand people saying: ‘It’s not a good season for City.’
“But if, at this club, you can compete for it and let alone win it, then it is a strange question to ask in my opinion. If Virgil has this opinion as well then I agree with him.”
Liverpool require just 13 more points from eight matches, with Arsenal barely visible in their rear-view mirror at this stage. Defending champions City are battling it out to finish in the top five, all of whom should qualify for the Champions League thanks to England’s UEFA coefficient.
Despite Liverpool‘s march towards the league title, Slot has dismissed claims that the competition is weaker this season. Echoing sentiments expressed by Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, Slot highlighted the competitive nature of the league, pointing to the European ambitions of teams like Nottingham Forest and upcoming opponents Fulham.
Slot argued: “I think the league is better than it ever was, that is what people are always saying. That’s what I hear a lot because the strength overall is getting better.
“I think even Pep said there will not be a team again as long as he lives that gets more than 100 points and wins the league four times in a row because so many more teams are having so many more good players.
“I think he even said what I have said the whole year, that all clubs, even some who are fighting against relegation, have some players who can play for City, for Arsenal, for us, for Chelsea and for these type of teams. That is probably why it is such a compliment for us that we do have those points at the moment.”
