Hincapie fires 'I don't forget' dig at Van Dijk after Anfield win

Piero Hincapie had a very specific message for Virgil van Dijk after Arsenal's 1-0 win at Anfield on Sunday, and it had nothing to do with the football itself.

Kai Havertz scored the only goal of the game as Mikel Arteta's side climbed to the top of the Premier League table, with Liverpool failing to register a single shot on target. The result moved Arsenal three points clear of Manchester City and handed the Reds their latest setback in a difficult start to the campaign, leaving them fifth.

But it was what happened after the final whistle that caught plenty of attention. Hincapie posted three pictures from the match to his Instagram with the caption 'I don't forget...'. The final image was a close up of the gold Premier League badge stitched onto the sleeve of Arsenal's shirt, a badge only worn by the division's defending champions.

A response nine months in the making

The post was a direct callback to January, when Van Dijk did something almost identical after a goalless draw between the two sides at the Emirates. Liverpool were champions at the time, and the Dutchman's post was widely interpreted as a quiet reminder to Arsenal of exactly that.

Hincapie clearly saw it the same way, and with Arsenal now the ones wearing the gold badge, he used the same trick to turn the message back on Van Dijk and Liverpool.

It capped off a feisty afternoon at Anfield that had an edge to it even before Hincapie's post. Alexis Mac Allister was accused of trying to get Noni Madueke sent off during the game, with Jamie Carragher branding the incident 'embarrassing'.

Arteta full of praise for defensive display

Arsenal's defence has been the foundation of their title charge, with just five goals conceded in nine Premier League matches this season, three of which came in their sole defeat against Brighton. David Raya did not have to make a single save against Liverpool, a statistic that even impressed his own manager.

“I didn't know about that statistic but that's incredible,” Arteta said. “It didn't feel like this to be fair on the pitch because there were very little margins sometimes when they had the opportunity to shoot and it's a team that shoots a lot. You have to be so good at blocking shots and preventing those spaces for them to get into there. Again, it's a commitment of every single player in every action consistently to deliver those kind of stats and to do it against this team, it's something remarkable I would say.”

It is still early in the season, but with Arsenal top of the table and in a position of such defensive strength, Hincapie's dig will have landed exactly as intended.