Virgil van Dijk refuses to rule out Liverpool's Premier League title hopes despite being 15 points behind Arsenal 

Liverpool star center-back Virgil van Dijk has issued a defiant message over the Reds' chances of winning the Premier League this season, despite sitting 15 points behind league leaders Arsenal.

Van Dijk also reflected on his 2022 FIFA World Cup campaign as the Netherlands' captain. The Dutch were knocked out by Lionel Messi and Argentina in the quarterfinals after losing 4-3 in the penalty shootout.

The Liverpool No. 4 stated that his failure at this year's World Cup has motivated him to chase down Arsenal, who are leading the Premier League table. Van Dijk said (via the Daily Mail):

"Obviously I had time to reflect. Things were disappointing in the end for us, that is also part of football and I know that. I've lost quite a bit already so it was a tough couple of days but then it was about switching back towards the most important things in life - my wife and kids - so that was the case."

He continued:

"It fuels me in any way, shape or form because I want to be successful with the Netherlands but it also motivated me here. We are quite some points behind Arsenal but the season could be a very crazy one, a very strange one."

Van Dijk further went on to say:

"But we have to be realistic and we're not thinking about the title at the moment. We have to focus on the game ahead of us, win games and then we'll see. I am always motivated, I always want to win and I give everything each and every game."

Following their fairly fortunate victory over Leicester City, which saw two own goals from the Foxes' defender Wout Faes, Liverpool are sixth in the standings. The Reds will next face Brentford on January 2, a day after Van Dijk's five-year anniversary at Anfield.

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"Honestly, we cannot play like Monopoly" - Jurgen Klopp sends Liverpool fans a disappointing transfer message

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp insists the Reds cannot lavishly spend in the winter transfer window, which is unfortunate news for Liverpool fans.

Most recently, the Reds secured Cody Gakpo's signature from Dutch outfit PSV for £37 million. The German boss seems to believe that supporters will never be satisfied, despite the Reds signing the Dutch winger.

Klopp said (via Liverpool Echo):

"I am now here seven years and a few months, and every window is pretty much the same. We talk about these things as though money wouldn't play a role. It is never like this, that we can just spend money.I don't want to disappoint anybody and their dreams, but we sign an outstanding player like Cody Gakpo and the next thing you read is 'who's next?'. It's like we didn't have a team."

He added:

"Honestly, we cannot play like Monopoly. We never did and I don't understand it. Of course we cannot just spend and never could. And we always sort our situations. It is a big part of my philosophy, really working full of faith and trust with the players we have and not constantly questioning them by telling them that we need another player in their position."