The concerning Liverpool dilemma exposed by Arsenal’s Anfield victory

Anfield has witnessed plenty of history over the years, some of it involving Arsenal . On the ground where they won the league in 1989, Arsenal achieved something even George Graham’s famously frugal defence might deem an achievement. Since such statistics were first compiled in the 2003-04 season, Liverpool had never ended a Premier League game at Anfield without a shot on target. They did on Sunday. They had, however, already finished a top-flight match in 2026 without a shot on target. In January, away at Arsenal. Andoni Iraola has been a change from Arne Slot in some respects. He emulated his predecessor in one way. Liverpool could draw different conclusions from Iraola’s first meeting with Arsenal. They battered the champions for a spell in the first half. “This stadium creates waves and waves of attacks,” said Declan Rice; though it was partly the consequence of Iraola’s brand of football. But if the stadium created attacks, did Liverpool actually create chances? A tally of 17 shots sounds high: but apart from Florian Wirtz ’s free kick, which struck the bar, and Alexis Mac Allister ’s header, which cleared it, too few lodged in the memory, let alone the net. That those 17 efforts had a combined xG of just 1.15 shows than, on average, each had around a seven percent chance of going in. Opportunities, in general, were not good ones. Iraola and his players fixated on Jurrien Timber’s tug on Alexander Isak and the fact it did not bring a penalty. A side with no shots on target, and who gifted the opposition possession for the only goal should analyse themselves before the officials. Liverpool were up against an outstanding defence: but they did not unlock them and, for large swathes of the second half, it felt like they had run out of ideas. They had 34 crosses but too many were inaccurate. They could draw a comparison with their previous Anfield defeat, and the previous time they failed to score: the 3-0 defeat to Manchester City ended with further recriminations about a decision, when Ryan Gravenberch was sent off. Then, at least, they ended with six shots on target. Liverpool had no shots on target during their 1-0 defeat to Arsenal at Anfield (Reuters) Liverpool have a famously costly forward line, with three £100m men in the front four with Cody Gakpo, who has actually been better than any of them this season. The price tags may make them easy targets, but they also deliver expectation; an expectation to influence the major matches. They did not decide this one. Wirtz can feel unlucky on successive Sundays: before hitting the bar against Arsenal, he seemed to score against Brighton, only for it to be classified as a Pascal Gross own goal. But the £100m German is still yet to score in the division this season. Liverpool have only created seven big chances in the league this season and Wirtz is supposed to be their creator in chief. Meanwhile, Bradley Barcola showed startling speed and helped electrify Anfield at times in the first half. Yet the £106m winger’s only goals have come against the relative minnows of LASK. Florian Wirtz's Liverpool struggles continued as he failed to make a decisive contribution to unlock Arsenal's defence (Getty) Then there is Isak, who was underwhelming against his long-term admirers. A year ago, Liverpool took Arsenal out of the reckoning for the Swede’s signature by paying £125m for him. The former Newcastle man has only been outscored by Erling Haaland in the Premier League this season but his quest for a defining goal continues. He scored three in the Premier League last year; against teams who finished 15th, 17th and 18th. This season, he has at least struck against high-flying Brighton, which Haaland did not on Saturday. But Haaland is both prolific against the rest and the best. Iraola has not complained about the extended absence of Hugo Ekitike but must wish he had an elite striker to bring on for Isak, instead of the rookie Lewis Koumas. On Sunday, and not for the first time this season, Mac Allister looked the man most likely to make something happen for Liverpool. Andoni Iraola’s Liverpool team failed to truly challenge the Premier League champions (Getty) Iraola tried to change the game from the bench. “I decided to finish with Rio [Ngumoha], with Victor [Munoz] and put in Dom [Szoboszlai] to see if we could maybe from one shot outside the box, to score in different ways,” he reasoned. Ngumoha’s capacity to wriggle away from markers added excitement but a Szoboszlai long shot remains Liverpool’s only goal in their last three meetings with Arsenal: his spectacular, match-winning free kick last August. That can show how difficult it is to score against Arsenal. Equally, Arteta’s team are the benchmark now. Iraola’s side have the energy and the expensive attackers but lack the stature of the leaders. In a meeting of the last two Premier League champions, one looked altogether more convincing than the other. Even as Iraola followed Slot in seeing his side fail to record a shot on target against Arsenal, he is unlikely to copy his predecessor in another. Because the Dutchman won the league in his debut campaign at Anfield.