Virgil van Dijk's Arsenal confession and what Liverpool really think of title rivals now

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Arsenal have a seven-point lead over Liverpool in the Premier League table heading into the final round of matches before the international break

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk pointed to Arsenal's defensive record as a benchmark for success after their win over Real Madrid in the Champions League.

Both the Gunners and the Merseyside outfit were in Champions League action on Tuesday night, with Arsenal claiming a 3-0 win over Slavia Prague in Prague thanks to a Mikel Merino brace and a Bukayo Saka penalty.

Over at Anfield, Liverpool secured all three points with a 1-0 victory over Real thanks to a second-half goal from Alexis Mac Allister.

The win also marked a second consecutive clean sheet for Liverpool, while Arsenal have now kept eight in a row thanks to their victory in the Czech Republic.

Arsenal still have a seven-point lead over Liverpool in the Premier League table, as well as a six-point advantage over second-placed Manchester City.

Speaking after Liverpool's win over Real Madrid, Van Dijk confessed he's looking at Arsenal's defensive record as their own aspiration, making clear how the Liverpool dressing room really feels about their title rivals.

“That is the basis of success at the moment. I think that you can see that Arsenal are flying and that is down to clean sheets and not conceding chances," said Van Dijk in an interview with Amazon Prime Sport.

“I think that’s what we had as well and now what we are trying to do consistently - start with defending. We have the quality to hurt anyone in possession and on the break.

“But it starts with defending and today showed our hard work. Against Villa we didn't create too many open [play] chances but we managed to find the win and we have to keep going.

“Sunday [vs Manchester City] is going to be another difficult one and so we have to be ready for that as well.”

This weekend will see the Premier League return for the final round of fixtures before the November international break.

Arsenal are scheduled to face Sunderland as they travel to the Stadium of Light on Saturday, before fellow title rivals Liverpool and Manchester City will be going head-to-head at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

After the international break, Arsenal return with an important game against arch rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the north London derby on November 23.