Iraola criticises refereeing against Arsenal: you have to dive to win a penalty!

The Liverpool manager speaks about the controversial refereeing incidents

Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola felt his side showed great courage against Arsenal and deserved more, after slipping to a 1-0 defeat on home soil in front of their own supporters on Sunday evening, in the ninth round of the Premier League.

Arsenal broke their Anfield hoodoo in the process. The Gunners' last Premier League win there had dated back to 2012.

Iraola said after the match: "We were hoping to achieve a better result today. We take responsibility, especially from the start of the match. After we conceded the goal, perhaps we had nothing to defend, so we played with more freedom, and played with more courage, and I think we turned the course of the match around in the first half, and we finished the match very well. We tried in the second half but we couldn't score."

As reported by the "BBC", he added: "We hit the crossbar, and we had good chances that we couldn't take. We certainly deserved a goal."

He continued: "I liked my players' reaction after falling behind by a clean goal. We finished the first half excellently, and we kept pressing. I enjoyed many moments of the match."

His message was one of patience: "We have to carry on. The season is still at its beginning. Arsenal are at their best, but today is only the start of November. We have many matches ahead of us."

Liverpool were denied a penalty when Alexander Isak had his shirt pulled inside the box, and Iraola was baffled. "The incident was clearly captured. There was a clear pull on the shirt. Alex was right in front of him, and he was going to head it at goal but couldn't because of his shirt being pulled. I don't understand why they didn't award a penalty, perhaps because he didn't fall to the ground."

He added: "I think Jakpo's penalty wasn't correct, but Isak's penalty was because of his attempt to head the ball in front of the goalkeeper. He held his shirt. I don't understand why a penalty wasn't awarded."

His frustration ran deeper still: "You have to dive, if you don't dive then penalties won't be awarded."

Asked whether he would now tell Isak to go down in those situations, the Spanish manager said: "Yes, definitely."

Pressed on whether things were heading in the right direction, Iraola concluded: "It's hard to judge after a defeat, especially after five wins. This match was important to us, and we feel very disappointed."