Isak Was Not Good Enough For Liverpool in Arsenal Defeat

Liverpool suffered a damaging loss at home to Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon, and Florian Wirtz’s performance is once again in the limelight.

The Gunners edged past Andoni Iraola’s men to end their 14-year wait for a win at Anfield, courtesy of an early Kai Havertz’s tap-in. Despite pushing for an equaliser throughout and sustaining waves of attack for long periods, the Reds ultimately weren’t able to create many clear-cut chances as Mikel Arteta’s side’s defence stood firm.

In fact, such was the brilliance of Arsenal’s rearguard effort that Liverpool failed to muster up a single shot on target in the entire 90 minutes.

Miraculously, this is the first time the Merseysiders have ever finished a Premier League match at their own stadium without managing to hit the target with one of their shots, according to journalist Colin Millar.

Understandably, Liverpool supporters are looking to diagnose what exactly went wrong in order for this record-breaking stat to be realised.

Wirtz, who has so often been lamented for his quiet performances since joining the north-west club last summer, is unsurprisingly under the microscope again. The German rattled the bar with a spectacular effort from a free-kick in the first half, but Liverpool’s general lack of creativity can certainly be somewhat attributed to him.

The number ten created no chances on the day, mustering up just 0.06 expected assists and playing two line-breaking passes. Free-kick aside, it was certainly another muted display from the £116 million man.

Wirtz’s inability to create centrally meant Liverpool continuously funnelled the ball out wide before resorting to hopeful crosses into the box.

That said, while the former Bayern Leverkusen was culpable, it wasn’t as though Liverpool didn’t get the ball into dangerous positions frequently, which is why another Iraola player is equally at fault for the defeat.

Alexander Isak Made Nothing of Liverpool’s Pressure vs Arsenal

REUTERS/Phil Noble

When failing to have a shot on target in a match, people are right to look at the number ten and ask for more. However, when you fail to have a shot on target in a match whilst having 17 shots, 48 touches in the opposition box and countless crosses, the centre-forward should also be questioned.

Liverpool put plenty of pressure on Arsenal, pushing the Gunners back for long periods and loading the box on numerous occasions. However, Alexander Isak still managed to look quiet, failing to make enough of a presence in Arsenal’s penalty area when the ball came towards him.

He managed just two shots worth a combined 0.1 expected goals throughout the game, meaning despite Liverpool’s dominance, he wasn’t able to really make himself a goal threat.

For a player who has been in such a rich vein of form, Iraola would’ve expected more. The Swede also didn’t make up for his lack of goal threat with plenty of valuable work in other areas. He completed just 12 passes, created just one chance and completed only one dribble.

It was a non-existent showing from Isak, who was physically bullied by Ezri Konsa and Gabriel Magalhaes throughout. The Arsenal centre-backs used their robust frames to essentially mark the slender striker out of the game.

Given Hugo Ekitike is still a while away from returning to the action, Isak’s performance will be a concern for Iraola. Too frequently, the former Newcastle man goes missing in big games. He doesn’t influence matches enough, and this dire display against the Gunners deserves just as much scrutiny as Wirtz’s will inevitably get.

Isak will have a chance to make up for his shortcomings against Arsenal when Liverpool visit Fenebahce in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

All Statistics via FotMob – correct as of 01/11/2026