Dejan Lovren Says Liverpool 'Have Everything' Necessary to Win Premier League

Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren believes the Reds "have everything" they need to end their 29-year wait for a top-flight title and win the Premier League crown this season. 

The Merserysiders have come close on several occasions in that time and finished second twice in the past 10 years. But Lovren revealed what's made the difference as they lead the Premier League by six points, per the Mirror's David Maddock:

"Experience.

"There are quite a lot of players still here—and it was like a puzzle. You keep bringing in players, you missed—but now I think it's a perfect match. You feel that, in the squad, it's how it should be.

"There has always been something missing all these years, but I think now we have everything."

Analyst Simon Gleave recently posted a thread examining Liverpool's unbeaten start to the league season, and history suggests Jurgen Klopp's men will win the top prize:

Lovren, 29, has stepped back into a more senior role among Liverpool's defence following injuries to Joe Gomez and Joel Matip. He scored a sensational goal in the 4-0 drubbing of Newcastle United on Boxing Day.

While hopes are high, fans will not have forgotten the 2013-14 Premier League campaign, when Liverpool looked all but set to clinch that year's crown but faltered in the final weeks to surrender it to City.

The Reds are the only team to crack 50 points (51) halfway through the season and could still beat the record 100 points City won last term.

That being said, a potentially tenser race at the top this campaign leads Gleave to believe such a figure won't be necessary to finish top come May 2019:

Liverpool are the only team yet to be beaten in the Premier League this season, and Lovren said of their less forgiving nature this term: "We live on winning games—and that's what matters."

Perhaps the biggest difference this time around is star defender Virgil van Dijk, who arrived at Anfield in January but has now had his impact from the beginning of a season—and it shows.

Former Liverpool and England star Michael Owen recently appeared on BT Sport and said the sky is the limit for Van Dijk, who has also been a big part of the Netherlands national team's recent resurgence:

The biggest difference between this season's Liverpool and Klopp's team last year is the defence. The Reds have won their last seven games and kept clean sheets in five of those.

Liverpool writer Leanne Prescott has been similarly impressed with Van Dijk:

The club spent £75 million to land the Dutchman and splashed out £70 million on Brazil international Alisson, at the time making him the most expensive goalkeeper in the world. Midfielders Naby Keita and Fabinho are also starting to flourish, while £13.5 million Xherdan Shaqiri has proved a bargain.

The Reds host Arsenal on Saturday and can send out another statement of intent against one of the Premier League's big guns.