Liverpool’s work in progress falls short against Arsenal

Liverpool remain a work in progress: against Arsenal, the champions handled the decisive moments better and the attempted recovery came to nothing. The contrast summed up a frustrating evening for a side hoping to make its mark in the title race.

The final whistle confirmed Mikel Arteta’s first win at Liverpool as Arsenal manager. His team also secured its first league victory at Anfield in 14 years and moved three points clear at the top of the table. Arteta celebrated with first-team coach Gabriel Heinze, while Arsenal’s players received the acclaim of their travelling supporters. Anger filled the space around them.

Liverpool had chances to get back into the game. Florian Wirtz struck the crossbar during the home side’s brightest spell, before Alexis Mac Allister missed a free header from 10 yards out. But Arsenal absorbed the pressure after the break, with Gabriel Magalhães and Declan Rice prominent, and Liverpool’s belief in a comeback faded. Ngumoha made an impact, though Liverpool’s varied forward line could not make the difference. The home players were still applauded as they left the pitch for their effort and misfortune.

The Guardian noted that Liverpool had gone 16 years without being held to zero shots on target in a Premier League match, underscoring the difficulty of the evening. The team had also started slowly and lacked attacking penetration, while Arsenal’s defensive strength underpinned the win. Frustration was compounded by disputed refereeing decisions: Iraola’s observation that both of Liverpool’s defeats this season had turned on contentious calls was judged valid.

Iraola had brushed aside questions about title ambitions with the answer: «Too early.» That assessment also applied to the development of his team, as the match showed. Afterwards, he felt Liverpool had done enough to score: «We pressed Arsenal a lot. We hit the crossbar, Alexis Mac Allister had a header; a clear penalty for Alexander Isak was not given, and we did not make the most of the many balls into the box.»

The coach also insisted that the incident involving Isak should have resulted in a penalty: «The penalty on Isak was very clear. Everyone saw that he was pulled by the shirt.» He added bitterly that he would tell his players to go down in future. Iraola also noted that his team had come into the game on a run of five wins and that the match mattered greatly to them: «We are very disappointed, but although we deserved to score, we did not.»

Trey Nyoni’s first Premier League start reflected Iraola’s willingness to trust young players. Ryan Gravenberch was left on the bench alongside the fit-again Dominik Szoboszlai. But the need for aggression and attacking chaos in the final third outweighed the young midfielder’s defensive cover and patient build-up play. The defeat was a reminder that Liverpool still have work to do on the pitch, beyond their complaints about refereeing.