Liverpool's star-studded, expensively assembled attack has scored fewer Premier League goals this season than Ipswich. That needs to improve immediately. Mikel Arteta described it as "remarkable." His Arsenal side had just beat Liverpool 1-0 to secure their first victory at Anfield in more than 14 years, but there was one element of the Premier League champions' performance that appeared to please their manager more than any other. For the first time on record (since 2003-04), Liverpool had failed to record a shot on target at home in the Premier League, with Gunners goalkeeper David Raya enjoying a surprisingly uneventful afternoon on Merseyside.
Arteta's assessment was fair. While Liverpool did not do enough to test Raya, they didn't pose problems for the Arsenal defence. After falling behind to a Kai Havertz goal in the 16th minute, the hosts pinned the Gunners' back and played with an intensity reminiscent of Jürgen Klopp's "heavy-metal" Liverpool sides. The Reds had 28 touches in their opponents' penalty area in the first half -- the most on record (since 2008-09) by any team in the opening period of a Premier League game against Arsenal -- and could have been awarded a penalty for Jurriën Timber's shirt pull on Alexander Isak inside the box.
However, the fact remains that Liverpool are still not consistently functioning as a fluid attacking unit. They have scored just four goals at Anfield in the Premier League this season, their joint-fewest after five home matches in a top-flight campaign. So why is their star-studded attack struggling to deliver? And how can manager Andoni Iraola get them back on track? Big guns not firing. Going into Sunday's game, the matchup was pitched in some quarters as attack vs. defence. The absence of Bukayo Saka plus question marks over the fitness of Noni Madueke and Christos Tzolis had left Arsenal looking shorn of quality up front, while Liverpool's forwards had appeared to be finding their feet during a run of five straight wins in all competitions.
Source: ESPN Soccer · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing