Van Dijk does NOT blame himself Alisson for 'turning point' in Reds loss at Arsenal

VIRGIL VAN DIJK took the blame for a shocking defensive error as Arsenal blew the title race wide open.

Gabriel Martinelli took advantage of a disastrous mix between Liverpool skipper Van Dijk and goalkeeper Alisson to put the Gunners 2-1 ahead at the Emirates.

3

Alisson also made a blunder as substitute Leandro Trossard put the ball through his legs for Arsenal's third, leaving Mikel Arteta's men two points behind Liverpool at the top.

Champions Manchester City, who travel to Brentford on Monday evening, will be top of the table if they win their two matches.

And Van Dijk said after Sunday's 3-1 defeat: “It's a very tough day. I take full responsibility for Martinelli's goal because that was a turning point in the match and I should have done better.

“It's a split decision and I chose to bounce the ball, try to put my body in between. Alisson touched me a little bit and that prevented him from clearing the ball properly.

“It hurts and it hurts for the rest of the team, but especially for me. It was a big turning point.

“These things haven't happened that often in my career, but I will recover if I learn from things that don't go well.”

Liverpool, reduced to ten men with an 88th-minute red card for Ibrahima Konate, suffered only their second league defeat this season.

Reds boss Jurgen Klopp, who retires at the end of the season, refused to criticize Van Dijk and Alisson.

CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERS

He said: “Our main guys had a misunderstanding. They are people.”

Bukayo Saka opened the scoring before Gabriel's bizarre own goal following a William Saliba error brought Liverpool level on the stroke of half-time.

But the Reds' mistakes – with pundit Roy Keane saying the defense looked like a 'pub team' – ended their 21-match unbeaten run on home soil.

Klopp added: “We would have liked to win here, but we weren't good enough.

“But today no one celebrates their championship title and no one is relegated. We have time to create our own destiny.

“At the end I didn't think for a second about how many games City have left. I'm not nervous. We expect them to always win their matches.”

Arsenal have won three Prem games to move them into second place, and Arteta praised his players for a season-defining triumph.

Asked if they now have the mentality to win the title, Arteta said: “Absolutely. We showed that today against the most in-form team in Europe.

“To be the best and have the best mentality, you have to do it every three days. That is the challenge we have.

“It was a huge game that would determine where we are and where we will be.”

And midfielder Declan Rice added: “We knew how important the game is.

“We have got ourselves back on track.”

3