Arne Slot agrees with Virgil van Dijk as Michael Owen's Liverpool theory slammed again

Arne Slot has refuted any suggestions that , having joined in hitting back at .

The Reds are closing in on the title, with a maximum of just 13 points now needed to be crowned champions . If Arsenal drops more points, .

side will be aiming to go another step closer when they head to Fulham on Sunday, with the Gunners facing a tricky trip to Goodison Park on Saturday. Despite having the title in their sights though, Van Dijk has been.

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Following the victory in the Merseyside derby, Owen suggested that defeats to Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle in the and Carabao Cup would still leave a “bitter taste” at the end of the season, with the Reds having been denied a potential treble.

Van Dijk immediately snapped back at the former Liverpool star, insisting he needed to “change that narrative”, and now Slot has come out in defense of his captain.

“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?” Slot said. “Michael (Owen) 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 has also faced claims from rivals trying to diminish its achievements this season that the quality of the league has dropped. Man City boss is one person who has refuted those suggestions, with Slot agreeing.

“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.

“The reason why teams you might expect to have more points don’t have them is because the league has become stronger. That is probably why it is such a compliment for us that we do have those points at the moment.”