Former Liverpool midfielder Steve McManaman believes that Andoni Iraola is still a long way away from competing with Arsenal and Man City after the defeat to Fenerbahce

Ex-Liverpool midfielder Steve McManaman says Andoni Iraola's side is still a way off being able to compete with Arsenal and Manchester City for one reason.

While the Reds' roster contains a lot of quality, Liverpool has struggled for consistency across the opening weeks of the new campaign. It is still looking to get to grips with how Iraola wants it to play, and lost 3-2 in the Champions League to Fenerbahce this midweek, with some defensive calamities proving costly.

"I think they are getting better, and they are where everybody expected them to be," McManaman, who also played for Real Madrid, said.

"I think Liverpool, with the business they did in the summer, I would expect them to be in the second tier, below an Arsenal or a Manchester City.

"They can compete with them when they play each other, and I expect them to do that, but I think Manchester City and Arsenal have got bigger, stronger, deeper squads. That will help them across the 68 games or whatever games they play.

"I think if Liverpool can pinpoint the domestic competitions, which they are doing — they're in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup with a home tie — I think that will be great for Iraola's first year.

"And, of course, they need to try and get as high up in the league as they can, and finish in the Champions League spots. But I don't think they are good enough as a squad yet to challenge the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City."

Iraola will face his old club, Bournemouth, in December, in the Carabao Cup. While he oversaw a defeat in Europe on Wednesday, it won't make a big impact in terms of progressing into the knockout phase.

"The squad is not strong enough," McManaman, working as a pundit on TNT Sports, then added post-Fenerbahce.

"Fourteen or 15 of them are but the rest aren’t at the highest level. Whether it is strengthening in January or getting injured players back, Liverpool needs to bolster that squad with more quality."

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