Trey Nyoni turned up for Liverpool but now Iraola has a massive problem

Trey Nyoni hardly put a foot wrong in a promising first start for Liverpool in the Premier League.

The Merseysiders fell victim to some world-class defending from incumbent champions Arsenal at Anfield in a first defeat at L4 to the Gunners in 14 years.

But the Englishman carried himself superbly against Mikel Arteta’s men after initially showcasing some over-eagerness in his challenges in the opening stages of the first half.

Kai Havertz’s opening goal, following on from a disastrous pass from Alisson Becker, was enough to see Arsenal take all the points at full time.

What did the stats say about Trey Nyoni during Liverpool vs Arsenal?

FotMob handed Nyoni a meagre 6.5/10 rating for his performance on Sunday evening, but we think the stats haven’t completely captured his contributions on the pitch.

* Trey Nyoni’s stats against Arsenal in the Premier League (FotMob)

14 line-breaking passes? 14!

Okay, perhaps he could have won more of his ground duels, but he showed remarkable maturity to settle himself down after some early haphazard tackling.

And we’re looking at a player here who isn’t just some brutish grunt in the middle of the park but can also contribute to build-up and create opportunities for forwards running on to balls in the final third.

A really mature display from young Trey Nyoni – and far closer to an 8/10 performance than FotMob have given him credit for.

Liverpool have to answer the Dominik Szoboszlai dilemma

Perhaps the biggest compliment that could be paid to Nyoni is the fact that Liverpool looked somewhat less in control, and less threatening in general, after Andoni Iraola hooked the youngster around the hour mark.

Now, to be completely fair to his replacement, Dominik Szoboszlai, the Hungarian international has missed the last three games due to an injury issue.

But it’s difficult not to draw conclusions going off the eye test – and the momentum charts – and really it only further serves to prove that the former RB Leipzig man seemingly can’t function in a midfield also containing Florian Wirtz in the ten position. A quick glance at Szoboszlai and Nyoni’s heatmaps would appear to confirm as much, with the former evidently operating ahead of the ball, while the latter looked to sit behind the play.

Either way, Iraola needs to figure out some kind of solution, because otherwise we’re waiting on the January transfer window to ensure we’re not burning out Trey Nyoni.