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Virgil van Dijk says Mohamed Salah's omission from Liverpool's team for a second successive match shows no player at the club has "unlimited credit".The Egypt international was an unused substitute for Sunday's win at West Ham and was on the bench for the 1-1 draw at home to Sunderland on Wednesday.It was the first time in his Anfield career that he had not started in back-to-back league matches.The forward was brought on for the second half against Sunderland but struggled to make an impact and is now goalless in five matches. Salah has scored just four Premier League goals for the struggling defending champions this season, in stark contrast to his haul of 29 last season.Liverpool captain Van Dijk was asked after the Sunderland draw whether Salah's omission had sent a message to the dressing room. "That's always been the case," he said. "It's not like you have unlimited credit, everyone has to perform. Mo has been doing that but the manager made that decision in the last two games. We all want the best for the club. I am pretty sure Mo will still be a big part of what we are trying to achieve because he is an amazing player and he has shown it consistently."Van Dijk praised playmaker Florian Wirtz, whose shot deflected in off Sunderland defender Nordi Mukiele for a late Liverpool equaliser that left them eighth in the table. The German, who joined Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer transfer window for £116 million ($155 million), is showing encouraging signs after a tough start to life at Anfield."There's a very good reason why a club like us bought him," said Van Dijk. "He's an outstanding, world-class player, in my eyes, who can only become even better but it will take a bit of time. For him he has to stay level-headed. Don't get dragged into the outside world of when it's very good or very bad and don't get dragged into the numbers game. Nowadays there are a lot of eyes on you if you score goals or have an assist or keep clean sheets but it is also about what you see and the contribution you have for the team."Arteta fears injury woes will hamper Arsenal title chargeMikel Arteta fears Arsenal's mounting injury problems will hamper their bid to win the Premier League title after Declan Rice and Cristhian Mosquera limped off in Wednesday's 2-0 win against Brentford. Arteta's side moved five points clear of second-placed Manchester City thanks to goals from Mikel Merino and Bukayo Saka at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners extended their unbeaten run to 18 matches in all competitions with an eighth successive home victory.But Arteta, already without first-choice centre-backs Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba through injury, was dealt a blow when Spanish defender Mosquera was forced off just before half-time. Even more alarmingly, England midfielder Declan Rice appeared to be nursing a calf injury when he was substituted 10 minutes from full-time."Obviously it's never good news. Declan had to come off. We don't know. We have to see tomorrow what he's got," said Arteta, who is also without Kai Havertz and Leandro Trossard due to injuries. "Declan can walk. He cannot play. The thing is, he's played a lot of minutes but as well, now we played Wednesday night and we have to play Saturday morning as well."With Arsenal having battled through a gruelling week featuring wins over Tottenham and Bayern Munich and a draw with title rivals Chelsea, Arteta had taken the opportunity to give a rest to Saka, Jurrien Timber and Eberechi Eze against the Bees. But all three were eventually needed off the bench, leaving Arteta to bemoan Arsenal's injury curse and question the Premier League fixture schedule ahead of a testing trip to in-form Aston Villa for Saturday's early kick-off. 

Brazilian wonderkid Estevao’s first Chelsea goal inflicted a third consecutive defeat on Liverpool Saturday, allowing Arsenal to go top of the Premier League after beating West Ham 2-0.After winning their opening seven games of the season in all competitions, Liverpool have suffered a nightmare week to leave Arne Slot plenty to ponder over the international break.Injury-hit Chelsea were well worthy of a dramatic 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge to end their three-game winless run in the Premier League.One-time Liverpool target Moises Caicedo blasted the Blues into a half-time lead with a blistering strike into the top corner on 14 minutes.Alexander Isak’s £125mn ($168mn) move to Liverpool last month broke Caicedo’s record as the most expensive Premier League player of all-time.The Swedish striker is still yet to score a league goal but his deft touch teed up Cody Gakpo to equalise just after the hour mark.However, Chelsea were not to be denied as Estevao slid in at the far post to meet Marc Cucurella’s cross deep into stoppage time, sparking wild celebrations from manager Enzo Maresca who was shown a red card for sprinting down the touchline.Liverpool now trail Arsenal by one point, while Chelsea edge up to sixth.Arsenal lose Odegaard In Mikel Arteta’s 300th match in charge, Arsenal proved far too strong for the struggling Hammers to further their ambitions of a first Premier League title for 22 years.Victory came at a cost for Arsenal as captain Martin Odegaard was forced off injured before half-time for the third time this season.However, the strength in depth now on offer to Arteta has made light of Arsenal’s injury troubles.“We dominated and fully deserved to win this,” said Arteta. “To go top of the table after some big fixtures over the last week and some injuries... we were able to respond.”Declan Rice, who left West Ham for £105 million in 2023, ended the visitors’ resistence by blasting high into the net on the rebound after Alphonse Areola parried Eberechi Eze’s drive.Bukayo Saka made the points safe midway through the second half from the penalty spot on his 200th Arsenal appearance after Jurrien Timber was brought down by El Hadji Malick Diouf.Breathing spacefor Amorim Manchester United handed Ruben Amorim some relief with a 2-0 win over Sunderland Saturday.The Portuguese had taken just 34 points from his previous 33 Premier League games in charge, but enjoyed a rare convincing win to give him some breathing space over the international break.“We were a competitive and adult team today,” said Amorim. “We need to do this kind of performance away as well - it’s our responsibility to play like this,” he added.Before kick-off Old Trafford fell silent to honour the victims of a terror attack on a Manchester synagogue this week.Amorim’s bold calls with his team selection paid off as goalkeeper Senne Lammens kept a clean sheet on his debut, while Mason Mount justified his place over Matheus Cunha with the opening goal.Mount eased the home fans’ tension with a fine finish from Bryan Mbeumo’s cross on eight minutes. Benjamin Sesko doubled the Red Devils’ advantage with a predatory finish from a long throw-in for his first Old Trafford goal since a £74mn move from RB Leipzig.Nearly a twistThere was nearly a twist at the end of the half as Sunderland were initially awarded a penalty, only for VAR to intervene due to insufficent contact by Sesko on Trai Hume.Tottenham showed their newfound defensive resolve under Thomas Frank to end Leeds’ year-long unbeaten league run at Elland Road with a 2-1 victory.Mohammed Kudus’ first goal for Spurs secured all three points after Noah Okafor cancelled out Mathys Tel’s opener for the visitors.“That feeling to get over the line, to get three points, was big,” said Frank after his side moved up to third.