Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk explains why he clashed with Arsenal's Sokratis

Van Dijk confronted Sokratis at half-time after the visiting defender had accused Mohamed Salah of diving

Virgil van Dijk has claimed he “just wanted to talk” to Arsenal’s Sokratis Papastathopoulos in their heated exchange during Liverpool’s 5-1 victory over Arsenal.

Van Dijk confronted Sokratis at half-time after the visiting defender had accused his team-mate Mohamed Salah of diving to win a penalty.

Salah converted Liverpool’s fourth goal from the spot after being brought down from behind by Sokratis, though the Greek felt Salah had exaggerated his fall.

When Sokratis complained Salah about the incident after the half-time whistle, Van Dijk intervened, but he claims the tense exchange was nothing serious.

“I saw that he went to Mo and was saying that he dived,” Van Dijk said. “He was attacking him a bit, but I wanted to say he didn’t dive.

“Obviously everyone came around us and it looked like we were fighting or something but we weren’t. I just wanted to talk to him. But that happens in football and we move on.”

Van Dijk added: “I’m protecting my team-mates and that’s normal, that’s how everyone should react and that’s what we all need to do, to back each other. That’s what I definitely do.”

Liverpool’s victory extended their lead at the top of the Premier League table, with a trip to defending champions Manchester City next up.

Victory at the Etihad would make Liverpool sure-fire favourites with many to win their first league title since 1990, but Van Dijk does not believe Thursday’s game alone will settle this year's title race.

“We have finished 2018 now pretty well and hopefully we can keep that going,” he said. “City is a game that we want to win.

“It will be very hard, very tough, but for them as well. It’s going be a good match, but it is not a decisive game or something like that.

“We are not going to treat it different to any other. We will be prepared for a very tough game.

“Confidence is definitely here, but it can change over a couple of games,” he warned. “We won’t get carried away.

“We need to keep doing what we have been doing. There will be setbacks, as there always is in life, but it’s how you react and so far we have been doing pretty well.

“There are things to improve, but we are top of the league, still in the Champions League, and we are doing well, just need to keep going.”