Andoni Iraola has said he will tell his Liverpool players to go down in future after they were denied what he called a clear penalty in a 1-0 home defeat to Arsenal.
The Liverpool boss insisted his team should have been awarded a spot-kick after TV pictures showed Arsenal defender Jurrien Timber pulling Alexander Isak's shirt. Referee Andy Madley waved away the appeals, and the decision survived a VAR check, as Kai Havertz fired the league leaders to their first win at Anfield in 14 years.
Iraola: 'The Isak one is a clear penalty'
Iraola said: "The Isak one is a clear penalty, they grab him, everyone see the shirt and probably because he doesn't dive."
Sky pundit Daniel Sturridge said "if Isak makes more of it then it's a penalty", and Iraola admitted he will now tell his players to go down from now on.
Iraola added: "It is a shame you ask me this question but honestly, yes, if you don't go down but I think Alex is honest, everyone can see straight away it is a clear pull. I can say what I think about the situation but we have to say what it is, it is a pen and look at things we have to improve.
"I think we have to wait now 10 days or 12 until (Pro Ref) give the solution but it is not going to change anything. It was a clear penalty for us."
VAR check and other incidents
It is understood that the penalty was not given after a VAR check as the officials felt it was a small hold which was not deemed as having a game-changing impact.
Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk was also seen confronting Noni Madueke, who, despite already being booked, pushed his head into Alexis Mac Allister's forehead. Mac Allister went down in spectacular fashion despite barely being touched.
Van Dijk said it will take time for Iraola to really make his mark. Van Dijk said: "When someone new comes in the building and everything changes, it just needs time. I'm pretty sure things will click and things will work out."
Arsenal's historic win at Anfield
Arsenal did not allow Liverpool a single shot on target at Anfield - despite heavy pressure - which is a first in Premier League history.
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta added: "I didn't know about that stuff, but that's incredible. It didn't feel like this, to be fair, on the pitch, because there were very little margins sometimes when they had the opportunity to shoot.
"Just loving the mission. And the mission was something that we didn't accomplish in 14 years. And there were reasons for that. Some of them were psychological problems. Some of them were related to the quality that we showed on the pitch, certain moments or decisions.
"And we knew that we need to nail absolutely all of them. And we're going to have to navigate through periods that we're going to have to suffer because they are extremely good at doing that and creating those vertical attacks, those chaos moments for almost nothing.
"And you really need to enjoy that. If you don't, there will be a moment they will switch up and they will punish you. And yeah, I think the way we competed and played and the chances that we generated as well, it was really impressive. So I'm really happy."
