Virgil van Dijk believes Liverpool are regaining their intensity, insisting Sunday's visit from champions Arsenal is the ideal time to showcase their development under Andoni Iraola. The Reds skipper has, however, steered clear of comparing Iraola's style with the successful strategy deployed by Jurgen Klopp that helped win every top-level trophy between 2019 and 2022 at Anfield.
Iraola's side welcome Mikel Arteta's Gunners to Merseyside on Sunday afternoon on the back of a five-game winning sequence across all competitions, including a 2-0 victory against third-place Brighton & Hove Albion last weekend. Liverpool have conceded just one goal in the Premier League with 11 men on the pitch since August, with Van Dijk's partnership with summer signing Jeremy Jacquet being integral to a strong defensive showing in recent weeks.
Van Dijk on Iraola's demands
Asked to take stock of the first few months of Iraola's time in charge at Anfield and what has changed under the new head coach, Netherlands captain Van Dijk highlighted what the Basque boss is now demanding of the squad.
"The word has been said so many times 'intensity'," Van Dijk said. "Sometimes a bit of chaos and there is this risk-reward that's going on now as well."
"So that if we press high, well, I ended up at one point almost putting Cody Gakpo in one versus one on goal when I intercepted the ball on the right-hand side (against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night) when I'm a left centre-back."
"So it's this sort of intensity that we try to get into our press. But I think he mentioned it in his press conference before that he wants us to control the game by obviously having the ball and finding the right spaces at times."
"It's still a work in progress, but if you defend with a lot of intensity you have a big chance to win the ball high."
"Obviously sometimes that creates some risk and it could be vulnerable, but we're working on it a lot in order to be able to take that risk, but still not be as vulnerable as we have been at sometimes. But I think [against Chelsea] it showed that we did very well in my opinion."
Arsenal clash not a test
Van Dijk does not view the meeting with the Gunners as a measure of the team's credentials, instead framing it as an occasion to relish.
"I don't see [the Arsenal game] as a test [of our credentials], I see it as an amazing game to play and I'm really looking forward to it," he said. "We've got obviously a short window now up until that game but I think everyone is looking forward to it and I think as fans as well, I think it's a great game to be to be going at."
"I'm really looking forward to but I don't see it as a test, just play the game, enjoy it and work as hard as we can in order to get the three points."
He also stressed the need for adaptability during matches, citing the example of the Villarreal game where tactical changes were required. "There is a plan but in a game the plan and opponents can change," he explained. "A good example was against Villarreal. Obviously, at half-time, we took Ronald (Araujo) off, and put Ryan (Gravenberch) right-back because their left wing wasn't a left wing, he was a left midfielder."
"Then five minutes later their manager put a left winger on so then a Ryan is playing [as a] proper right-back. Obviously, at times, you have to take a risk in pressing, and I end up with the right midfielder sometimes and he runs to the other side so I follow and sometimes you have to do these things in order to win the ball high and be dangerous."
"You have to be able to adapt and that's part of our jobs as well. The manager can obviously put the plan out but we as players have the responsibility in order to execute and win the game as well, with the help, of course, of the manager and the staff, but we on the pitch are the ones that have the most influence."
Different era to Klopp
Asked if the returning "intensity" was similar to the famous 'gegenpressing' approach during the Klopp years - when the Reds won the Champions League, the Premier League, two League Cups, the FA Cup and a first-ever Club World Cup - Van Dijk rejected the theory, detailing why the two tactical blueprints differ.
"I think it's a different era, different times, I think it's difficult to say that," he added. "Under Jurgen, we pressed a lot with shuffling across."
"So whether it was our full-backs that pressed their fullback, then obviously our centre-backs have to come across, the midfield was all the way on one side, the winger was all the way on one side."
"So we tried to box them in one side, but football has changed. So it's different, but what is, isn't different is that the amount of sprints and running and trying to get the ball back as soon as possible."
"And also, we have to be a little bit more direct and that helps again winning the ball high. We have the players to do so as well. But like I said, there's still so much to improve."
"I think the manager also said the other day how well we played for 30-minutes against Brighton and that's what we want to do for the whole 90 minutes. We are on the way for how long, like four months now, so hopefully we can keep working on it."
He acknowledged the challenges posed by opponents who try to disrupt Liverpool's high press. "I think it's against every team, a challenge because when teams know that we want to win the ball high they try to drag you into difficult spaces and you have to read the game," he said.
"You have to sometimes, like, for example, Hendo (Chelsea's Jordan Henderson) dropped trying to pull one of us out to leave a space in behind so you have to then think about are you going or not?"
"So it's just reading a game as well, but especially here, at the start, you have to go all in and take that risk."
"If you win the ball high, you see when the crowd is coming up as well, it just brings that energy that will help throughout the whole 90 minutes. We have to keep going, keep improving."
He also noted the trend of one-v-one battles across the Premier League. "Nowadays a lot of teams, especially in the Premier League, play one-v-one," he said. "So when our goalkeeper has the ball, when I a goal-kick, there's a lot of one-v-ones and nowadays, they keep a plus-one at the back so then you have to try and find the spare man."
"But it's just a trend now that everyone just goes one v one and then you just have to think about what you're going to do. Are you going to go direct and play the second ball or you're going to try through them. That's the risk-reward you have to take."
