Liverpool fans have every reason to feel positive about their team despite falling to a second Premier League defeat of the season against Arsenal on Sunday.

There will be huge frustration at the fact that the Reds were beaten again at home, and there should be worry over Liverpool’s recent record at Anfield, but the fact that they pinned Arsenal back for a big portion of the game was definitely a good sign.

But why are Liverpool struggling so much to present their forwards with good opportunities after spending so much on them, and how can Andoni Iraola change it moving forward?

Liverpool’s big chance struggles are an Iraola problem

Although it felt like Liverpool were finding it hard to carve out clear chances last season, they actually ended the campaign having made the sixth-most, generating 100 ‘big’ opportunities.

That was obviously a drop from the previous season, when the Reds topped the division with 150, but what is clear is that this was not an Arne Slot problem.

When you think of Iraola as a coach, you do not associate his teams with finding difficulty in creating goalscoring chances, and Bournemouth finished eleventh, ninth and then ninth again for big chances created in Premier League terms during his three seasons at the Vitality Stadium.

This, in theory, should be levelled up after joining Liverpool, especially given the attacking talents he now has at his disposal at Anfield. However, it has got markedly worse, and it is extremely concerning that the Reds have only made 12 big chances in nine Premier League matches this season. Only Coventry have fewer.

Watching Liverpool, it is clear that this is not just a statistical anomaly. The Reds often look devoid of ideas when in possession. This could, in part, be due to having Alexander Isak operate as a more orthodox No. 9 and not being involved in the build-up play, thus essentially leaving Liverpool a man light as they embark upon attacks.

However, the crux of the problem lies more in the make-up of the midfield. Where Slot and Jurgen Klopp before him liked to play with three midfielders, Iraola is playing with two and Florian Wirtz.

Wirtz has been better recently, but from looking at his heatmap in the Premier League so far this season, it is clear that he is pulling left, regularly occupying a space just behind the left winger, which has usually been Bradley Barcola.

This has left a big gap centrally behind the forward players, and with one less midfielder there to fill the space and get on the ball, this could be where Liverpool are coming up short.

The lack of central players means opposition defenders can shut down the space in the middle much more easily, making them difficult to play through. There is a way for this to work, but Iraola has to stop Wirtz from drifting and try to keep him central as much as possible.

Wirtz’s role must be tweaked

When Liverpool decided to spend £116m on Wirtz in 2025, they did so with the idea that he would become the team’s creative hub. Though he has badly failed to live up to that billing, the German is still Liverpool’s biggest creator of chances, and only Pascal Gross has laid on more than the 22 opportunities he has made so far.

None of those have been categorised as big chances, though, showing that while Wirtz is capable of being Liverpool’s biggest creator, they have to get him in areas where he can be more effective.

For Iraola, this means instructing his No. 7 to stay as central as possible at all times. Though it is natural for Wirtz to go looking for the space, operating more in the pocket in front of the midfield and the opposition defence will help him – and Liverpool’s other forwards – to play with more balance.

The opposition centre-backs will be tasked with dealing with both Isak and Wirtz, and with the latter especially needing to be doubled up on when he has the ball, this can leave space out wide for Barcola and whoever is playing on the other wing.

Sticking Wirtz in the main area of traffic may feel counter-intuitive, but keeping him in one position will have benefits for the rest of the team. When he nails down the role, the 23-year-old is capable of being one of the best players in the world at chance creation. But he will not do it if he is playing too far from the goal and popping up in ineffective wide positions.

It is normal that Iraola is still trying to work out how to fit all of his attacking players together, and he probably also has one eye on the return of Hugo Ekitike and where he will fit in, which is possibly not helping.

But there is no question that this can be improved upon with a slight tweak in system. Other players have to take more responsibility, and the full-backs in particular have to be delivering more. Wirtz is the key here, though. He has the quality, Liverpool just need to coax it out of him.