Virgil van Dijk, the Liverpool captain, has spoken about the departure of Egyptian Mohamed Salah from the Reds at the end of last season.
Van Dijk said, in comments to the "Men in Blazers" channel on "YouTube": "As Liverpool captain and a player in the team, I want to compete for the Premier League title, but you also have to be realistic, and we saw how strong Arsenal were last year. We saw how consistent their level was, and of course if you look at their squad at the moment, you'll find that they also have good depth in their ranks."
The Dutchman added: "But looking at myself and at our team, I feel we have the quality that certainly qualifies us to compete for the Premier League title, but we have to deliver a much better level than we did last year, and that's a fact."
On his training under Iraola, he continued: "Describe training under Iraola in one word? Intense football. Yes, things were good. A lot of work, a lot of training sessions, tactical sessions, and small-sided games. Yes, things were good."
Reflecting on the previous campaign, he went on: "What did I learn from last season? I think the most important thing in all of it is that we delivered a season that is completely unacceptable for a Liverpool player and by Liverpool's standards. Naturally, you can't be perfect all the time in life."
He continued: "You can't always be at the top, but what matters is how you react to that, and it comes down to us and to what we do every day now, and we start from scratch again. Everything is open in front of us, and the competitions await us, and that's exciting. So this will be our full focus, and we have to be much better than we were last year."
Turning to Salah, he added: "Do you miss Mohamed Salah? Nothing lasts forever, and of course you remember Mohamed Salah, and that is completely deserved, because I don't think we'll ever be able to replace a player of that value and the way he performed and what he gave to the club, and in my opinion that's a good thing."
Drawing a comparison, he continued: "The same applies to Andy Robertson, and of course we had players in the past who were absolutely essential to the success we achieved, and that's life, and you simply have to move on and adapt, and others have to take responsibility and step forward."
He concluded: "An extra burden because of Salah and Robertson's departure? Well, we're still very early in the season, but the truth is you have to do it, and you can't shirk taking responsibility, and you also can't not want to take it on. It's up to others to step up and take responsibility."
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