ROY KEANE said at half-time that Liverpool had “defended like a pub team” in a worrying first-half performance.
And nobody was more at fault than Virgil van Dijk, who played like he had been out enjoying the Bank Holiday festivities a bit too much this weekend.
Roy Keane slammed Virgil van Dijk for his defending against Arsenal
Van Dijk endured a difficult afternoon at Anfield
The Dutch defender — so pivotal to the Reds’ recent success — did not cover himself in glory for either of Arsenal’s goals.
And his cynical challenge to haul down Gabriel Jesus as he skipped past him along the touchline smacked of desperation.
In recent years, Van Dijk was often described as a “Rolls-Royce of a defender”.
Yet in that disastrous opening half-hour at Anfield, the Dutch international looked like he was heading for the scrap yard at the age of just 31.
Former Liverpool man Jamie Carragher said their defence was “all over the place” at the start — and Van Dijk was the worst culprit.
Speaking about Arsenal’s second goal, Keane went on to add: “Really poor defending. Liverpool not at it. No intensity. Jesus standing in the middle of the box.
“Van Dijk’s ball watching. There’s no pressure on the ball. Far too easy for Arsenal. I bet he can’t believe his luck.
“Robertson’s efforts to get back – you’ve got to do better than that. Liverpool’s defending is like a pub team. They’re all over the place. They are a mess.”
Just eight minutes had passed when he got his legs in a muddle and rolled the ball into the path of Gabriel Martinelli.
The Gunners forward was not going to pass up a gift like that and gratefully prodded it past Alisson.
Some 20 minutes later, Van Dijk seemed to completely lose his bearings as a cross from Martinelli was swung over from the left.
He left Andy Robertson to go up against Jesus, who comfortably got above the Scot to make it 2-0.
Then came his ugly tackle on Jesus as VVD’s frustration boiled over and his team looked like they might be blown away by half-time.
The centre-back missed Tuesday’s trip to Chelsea through illness and while Liverpool rode their luck, they came away with a clean sheet from the Stamford Bridge stalemate.
Van Dijk was restored to the starting line-up yesterday as Jurgen Klopp showed he still has faith in his £75million signing.
That is unlikely to change just yet but the defender’s decline this season has mirrored the team’s.
Anfield boss Klopp described their campaign as “rubbish” before this game — and his star defender’s form has been a concern for much of it.
To be fair, the former Celtic and Southampton man got his act together after that horrific opening.
He was grateful to his centre-back partner Ibrahima Konate for guiding him through it, the Frenchman the Reds’ best defender by a distance.
Seeing Liverpool opened up like this at home will be a new worry for Klopp as they have generally looked like their old selves.
Before Sunday they had not conceded a Premier League goal in front of the Kopites this year, with the last one coming against Leicester on December 30.
That was almost seven and a half hours of football and had allowed the Reds to win three of their four games and keep their hopes of a top-four place flickering at least.
Despite a spirited comeback, their failure to win here may well have put that out of reach as they are now 12 points adrift.
In fact they are facing a battle to qualify for any of the European competitions next season.
And that will almost certainly see their summer transfer budget hit.
Klopp was planning to spend much of the money available on strengthening his ageing midfield.
Until recently he was not expecting to be blowing too much of his budget on a new centre-back.
But replacing a Rolls-Royce does not come cheap.
