"Pull his finger out" - Liverpool man told it's time to "get nasty" against Arsenal

Former Tottenham and Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood had some harsh words to say about Liverpool’s Virgil Van Dijk, and the pundit has told the defender to ‘pull his finger out’.

It has been a tough season for the Merseyside club so far, especially in the Premier League, as they sit in 10th place heading into this evening's clash with league leaders Arsenal.

Whilst their forward line has undoubtedly not been playing as well as Klopp would have hoped, most of the blame for Liverpool’s lacklustre start to the season has been put on their defence.

Fans and pundits alike have been condemning the whole of the Reds’ backline, but a large portion of the criticism has been reserved for Virgil Van Dijk. 

The Dutchman has been widely considered the best centre-half in the world for the last few years, but a few poor performances, the most notable being against Manchester United and Napoli, has pushed the 31 year-old into the firing line.

Arsenal’s front four have been seriously impressive so far this season, so it will take some effort to stop them this afternoon, and in order to do so, Tim Sherwood believes Van Dijk needs to ‘pull his finger out’.

“The huge player for me – and I know everyone is on the Trent [Alexander-Arnold] bandwagon right now and he’s not defending that well but going forward he’s still magnificent in my eyes – but Virgil needs to pull his finger out”, the pundit told Sky Sports.

‘He’s the leader, he’s playing at his pace and you can’t do that in the Premier League. I think he needs to show a little bit more urgency and leadership.

“I’m used to see him barking at people and the same for [Jordan] Henderson in the middle of the pitch and when [James] Milner is playing.

“That’s part of Van Dijk that people love about him, he’s a leader he didn’t care who he was upsetting.

“At the moment it just seems like he’s playing his own game. He needs to get a bit nastier and stop being friends with his team-mates.”

Jurgen Klopp will undoubtedly be hoping that his star defender can improve his form, and that his team can avoid a defeat that will most likely end their title hopes.