Virgil van Dijk believes Andoni Iraola's brand of risk-reward football is beginning to take shape at Liverpool ahead of this weekend's huge Premier League clash with Arsenal.

Liverpool welcome the Gunners to Anfield on Sunday on the back of five straight wins in all competitions, the latest of which came in the EFL Cup against Chelsea on penalties.

The Reds drew their opening two league games under Iraola, but have since won four of their last six (D1 L1), leaving them six points behind Arsenal in the standings. 

And their strong start under the Spaniard is largely down to a change in philosophy, with the reintroduction of a high press following the possession-based style seen under Arne Slot, who was dismissed just one season after winning the Premier League.

Iraola's tenure faces its toughest test against Mikel Arteta's side, but Van Dijk said they should not treat the defending champions any differently.

"Against every team it's a challenge because when they know that we want to win the ball high, they try to drag you into difficult spaces, and you have to read the game," he said.

"For example, Hendo [former Liverpool team-mate Jordan Henderson] dropped deep trying to pull one of us out to leave a space behind, so you have to then think about are you going or not? So it’s just reading the game as well.

"But especially here, at the start, you have to go all in and take that risk. If you win the ball high, you see the crowd coming up as well, and it just brings that energy that will help throughout the whole 90 minutes.

"But it's just a trend now that everyone just goes one-v-one, and then you just have to think about what you're going to do.

"Are you going to go direct and play the second ball, or are you going to try to go through them? That's the risk-reward you have to take.

"You have to be able to adapt and that's part of our jobs as well. The manager can obviously put the plan out, but we as players have the responsibility in order to execute and win the game as well, with the help, of course, of the manager and the staff, but we on the pitch are the ones that have the most influence."

Locked in for Sunday #TeamPixel https://t.co/toTNi9YIqt

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) October 30, 2026

In Liverpool’s last two Premier League games, they have beaten Brentford (started the day fourth) and Brighton (started in third), with Arsenal sitting second ahead of Sunday's meeting.

The only team to win three games in a row all against sides in the top four was Manchester United between August and September 2009, who beat Arsenal (third), Tottenham (second) and Manchester City (fourth).

No side has more Premier League clean sheets since the start of September than Liverpool (four in six games), with that tally of four only one fewer than they managed in their first 22 games in 2026 (five).

Iraola's appointment was to bring back a style of play that was so successful under Jurgen Klopp, though Van Dijk does not see too many similarities. 

"I think it's a different era, different times. Under Jurgen, we pressed a lot by shuffling across, we tried to box them to one side, but football has changed," Van Dijk added. 

"So it's different – but what isn't different is the amount of sprints and running and trying to get the ball back as soon as possible.

"Also, we have to be a little bit more direct and that helps again winning the ball high.

"You have to find the right balance because I feel that we can still play through the press, but we can also go direct and at home sometimes you have to.

"You have to try to create this chaos, second balls, battles and that’s what we still are learning."