Van Dijk, 33, was asked if he felt Arne Slot’s side could win all four major trophies after the Merseysiders destroyed Tottenham Hotspur 6-3 go guarantee top spot at Christmas. And it’s not the first time Liverpool have been tipped to make history in recent years, as they were touted to win all four honours in the 2019/20 and 2021/22 seasons, as well as last term.
While under the tutelage of Jurgen Klopp, the Reds did win the Premier League, the FA Cup and two League Cups over the course of those seasons. But some fans were left at little underwhelmed due to the constant quadruple talk.
Last year, when the Reds were performing brilliantly in all domestic competitions and the Europa League, Alexander-Arnold tied his colours to the mast and said that he is, personally, aiming to win all four honours in Klopp’s final campaign in charge. As admirable as his ambition was, his comments came back to haunt him – they did win the League Cup by beating Chelsea in the final, but their title challenge faltered in the final quarter.
Matters were made even worse when Manchester United and Atalanta knocked them out of the FA Cup and the Europa League respectively. And despite Liverpool currently topping the Premier League and the Champions League table as well as being in the semi-finals of the League Cup in Slot’s impressive first season so far, experienced centre-half and skipper Van Dijk did not entertain proposals of a quadruple like Alexander-Arnold did.
When asked about a possible quadruple, Van Dijk hit Sky Sports with an 18-word statement that said: “I’m not getting dragged into any conversation about potentially winning a trophy, or two, or three or four.”
He also said: “I think I’ve given answers already, many times, that we don’t think what’s out there in May. We want to be out there in May, but we’ve seen how difficult it is. Other teams can do it apart from obviously City. But we focus on what’s next ahead of us. That’s the only thing.”
The Dutchman added: “It’s about being there in each and every game that is ahead of us. At the moment, there was Spurs today, a tough one, but it was a very good game. The next one is Leicester and that’s the only game we have an influence on as well.”
