A frustrated Andoni Iraola has said he will tell Alexander Isak to always go to ground when fouled in the penalty area after Liverpool were denied a spot-kick in their loss to Arsenal at Anfield.
The Liverpool manager was angered by the decision not to award a penalty when Jurrien Timber pulled Isak’s shirt as the striker attempted to reach a cross from Bradley Barcola. Isak stayed on his feet and the referee, Andy Madley, waved play on.
“I think Alex is honest,” Iraola said. “He tries to go for the ball, everyone can see live straight away there is a clear, clear pull.”
Asked whether Isak should have gone down, he replied: “It’s a shame you ask me this question but, honestly, yes, we have to tell them to go down because they’re not going to call it otherwise.
“And then referees complain why they go down. Because if you don’t go down, you don’t call it.”
Liverpool also appealed for a penalty after Cody Gakpo was held by Christos Tzolis, but the decision was reviewed by the video assistant referee, Stuart Attwell, and rejected. Iraola accepted the reasoning for that decision but said it was difficult to reconcile with the failure to award the earlier penalty.
“The Isak one is a clear penalty,” he said. “He is going to head the ball in front of the goal and they grab him where everyone sees the shirt.
“Probably because he doesn’t dive or he doesn’t go to the floor. It shouldn’t be a reason not to concede a penalty.”
A disappointing result, but thank you for your support at Anfield today ❤️ https://t.co/S2bu4O55fI
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) November 1, 2026
Iraola said he understood the argument that Gakpo would not have reached the ball because it had been in the air for too long, but questioned why a similar justification could not be applied to the Isak incident.
“But then you’re basically accepting that the first one is a penalty, no?” he said. “You cannot use the argument in both ways differently.”
Liverpool were beaten by Kai Havertz’s early goal, which came after a poor clearance from Alisson. The defeat also ended their hopes of securing a first win against Arsenal at Anfield in 14 years.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said he was proud of his players after they recovered from their Carabao Cup defeat against Fleetwood in midweek.
“It feels better as a manager [to win at Anfield] because it has been such a long time without this feeling,” Arteta said. “I am extremely proud, especially given the conditions we arrived to the game.”
Arsenal have now won at Anfield, Villa Park, the Stadium of Light and the City Ground, four grounds where they failed to win during their title-winning campaign last season.
“This is a mission we didn’t complete for 14 years,” Arteta said. “There were reasons for that. Some were psychological, some were related to the quality we showed on the pitch, and some were decisions. We knew we had to nail all of them.”
Arteta was also pleased with Arsenal’s defensive performance after they prevented Liverpool from registering a shot on target in a Premier League match for the first time in 16 years.
“I didn’t know about that stat but that is incredible,” he said. “It didn’t feel like that at the time, they are a team that shoots a lot so you have to be good at denying them space and blocking shots. To do that against this team is remarkable, I would say.”
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk also criticised the decision not to award the penalty.
“I think it was a clear penalty,” he said. “I’ve seen it back and I’ve seen it being given. Today it wasn’t meant to be.
“We have 50 cameras. Why does he have to complain when there are so many cameras? Everyone has seen it. In the end it wasn’t given and we lose the game unfortunately, so well done to Arsenal.”
