Why Liverpool’s Toothless Afternoon Against Arsenal Should Worry Iraola More Than The Scoreline
A 1-0 home defeat to Arsenal was always going to sting, but the manner of it is what lingers longest in our minds this morning. Andoni Iraola’s side had the better of long stretches at Anfield, out-shot the champions-elect, and still walked away with nothing to show for it. That gap between effort and reward is now the single biggest question hanging over this Liverpool team, and it is one that points squarely at the final third rather than anywhere else on the pitch.
A Nine-Point Gap That Reframes The Season
Before kick-off, this fixture carried genuine title significance. A win would have cut the gap to Arsenal to three points and given real weight to the sense that Iraola’s rebuild was starting to click into gear. Instead, Liverpool trudged off nine points adrift, a margin that changes the conversation entirely.
We think it is worth being honest about what that gap means. Iraola is still in the early stages of reshaping how this team plays, and a project like that rarely runs in a straight line. There will be more afternoons like this one before there are fewer of them. That does not make Sunday painless, but it does put it in context: the next few months look more like an audition for Champions League qualification and a platform to build from than a genuine chance of catching Arsenal at the top.
None of that should be mistaken for an excuse. Liverpool can still make real progress between now and May without lifting the title, and in our view that progress matters more right now than a deficit that was always going to be difficult to close.
Plenty Of Chances, Nothing To Show For Them
Strip away the result and this was not a game Arsenal dominated. Liverpool finished with 17 shots to Arsenal’s 10, and even the expected goals numbers, 1.15 to 0.96, suggested a contest that could easily have finished level or gone the home side’s way. On another day, this is a draw at worst.
What actually happened is the detail that should worry everyone connected with the club. Liverpool failed to register a single shot on target across the full ninety minutes at Anfield. Volume of attempts clearly is not the issue here, conversion is, and that is squarely a forward-line problem rather than one bad performance from an individual.
It is also not an isolated afternoon. Liverpool have scored just four goals across their opening five home league fixtures this season, a run that cannot be explained away by the quality of Sunday’s opponent alone. Sharper movement between the front players, better combinations, and more composure in the moments that matter inside a packed box are all going to be needed if Iraola’s side are serious about climbing back into contention.
The Spell Liverpool Let Slip
Arsenal started the brighter of the two sides and had the first four attempts on goal. Once Liverpool adjusted their press, the balance of the game shifted sharply in their favour, and for a period it looked like the kind of spell that has decided plenty of big nights at Anfield down the years. Eight shots followed as Liverpool took total control.
The old pattern under previous regimes was that Liverpool scored when they had the game by the throat like that. This time Arsenal simply absorbed it, regrouped at the break, and found a way to disrupt the rhythm that had been building against them. Liverpool’s second-half numbers tell the story: nine shots, zero on target, and an expected goals figure of just 0.66. The pressure never quite curdled into real danger, and the opportunity to force Arsenal into pure damage limitation slipped away.
A Frustrating Afternoon With The Officials, But No Excuses
There is a fair question to ask about how this game was refereed. Liverpool were whistled for 13 fouls compared to just four against Arsenal, a split that felt hard to square with how the contest actually played out, and the shirt pull on Alexander Isak inside the box looked, at the very least, debatable. Arsenal were allowed to break the game up at will, winning free kicks easily while Liverpool struggled to get the same decisions, which suited a side that wanted the contest stop-start rather than flowing.
Even so, we are not interested in hiding behind the officials here. Liverpool had enough of the ball and enough of the chances to win this game outright, and the bulk of the responsibility for losing it sits with what happened, or did not happen, in Arsenal’s penalty area. Learning to impose themselves even when the officiating does not go their way is part of what Iraola’s side still need to master.
Losing Trey Nyoni Changed The Whole Shape Of The Game
If one individual story stood out from the afternoon, it was Trey Nyoni’s. Starting the teenager alongside Alexis Mac Allister was a bold call from Iraola, and while Nyoni had a tough time of it physically, winning only one of four ground duels and picking up an early booking risk, his influence on the ball was exactly what this Liverpool midfield has been missing.
Fourteen line-breaking passes and 11 into the final third is an extraordinary return for a player his age, and the moment he was withdrawn for Dominik Szoboszlai, Liverpool’s ability to progress the ball into dangerous areas simply disappeared. That substitution was understandable given the physical battle unfolding, but it cost Liverpool their most reliable route through Arsenal’s lines.
It leaves Iraola with a genuinely interesting decision to make over the coming months. Nyoni is still growing into his body, but his passing range already solves a problem this team has struggled with all season. We would not be remotely surprised if he is still starting matches like this one come May.
Our Take
Take the table out of it for a moment and this performance gives Iraola plenty to work with. The pressing worked for long periods, Liverpool created more and better chances than Arsenal did, and a teenager who should not even be the headline story produced the most encouraging individual display of the afternoon. The nine-point gap is real and it will not close itself, but a side that generates 17 shots against the division’s best defensive unit and still comes away with nothing is one game away from a result that changes the mood entirely.
What Iraola cannot allow is for Sunday to become the template. Liverpool need a finishing solution before Christmas, not a running explanation for why the goals are not coming. Whether that means a change in personnel up front, a different approach to breaking down deep defensive blocks, or simply more minutes for a midfielder who can unlock space the way Nyoni does, something has to shift. The quality to compete with Arsenal clearly exists inside this squad. Turning that quality into points at Anfield is now the only job that matters.