Liverpool have fallen behind Arsenal as the Gunners have managed to deal with the increasing physicality of the Premier League, Reds expert David Lynch has lamented.
While it is too soon to call time on the Premier League title race, the Merseysiders are already seven points behind first-placed Arsenal, who have managed to rise to the top of the table thanks to their immense physical prowess.
The Reds have struggled to grow in step with the league's emphasis on physicality and set pieces, with the club facing the most long balls of any team in the top flight (571), a clear sign that opponents have played a direct style of football in order to target their weaknesses.
Lynch argued that Liverpool's failure to adapt to the demands of the division have allowed Arsenal to gain a significant advantage in the race for the title, when he told Sports Mole: "Arsenal are the perfect team to win this league because [physicality] is exactly what it is needed.
"You couldn't criticise Mikel Arteta for not recognising the importance of duels because Arsenal's entire recruitment process is built upon that, and they are reaping the rewards at the moment. Maybe that's foresight from Arsenal to see which way the league was going.
"Maybe Arsenal have brought about this change by being so set-piece focused themselves and being so physical, and everybody else has realised that that's an easy way to improve. Either way, Arsenal deserve credit for that and Liverpool deserve a lot of criticism."
The Gunners have only conceded three goals this campaign in the top flight, whereas Liverpool's inability to win second balls has led to numerous dangerous attacks, with the Reds conceding 14 times in the Premier League.
David Lynch YouTube image
Did Liverpool fail to address their problems in the summer transfer window?
Liverpool won their opening Premier League game of the season against Bournemouth, but their 4-2 win at Anfield was concerning from a defensive perspective, something that former Reds star Jamie Carragher highlighted to boss Arne Slot directly.
Carragher has repeatedly discussed the team's issues at the back, and he has argued that signing players such as Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong and Florian Wirtz has exacerbated those problems.
Speaking to Sports Mole, Lynch agreed with the pundit's sentiments and bemoaned the club's focus in the summer transfer window, saying: "Liverpool from the back end of last season lost physical battle after physical battle, albeit the results were fairly stable, but that was a sign that something needed to change.
"I thought that we were going to have more physical players this summer. Instead, they did the complete opposite. Liverpool put Florian Wirtz in central midfield, and he has incredible qualities that we'll no doubt see, but he's not a duel winner, not somebody scrapping around for second balls.
"Rather than having a centre-half profile at full-back, they went with a pair of flying full-backs. They got rid of Luis Diaz, who was not aerially dominant, but he was a duel winner in terms of both defensive and attacking duels."
Liverpool have experimented with playing Wirtz on the left and right side of attack, but whenever the German has drifted into the middle of the pitch, he has found it difficult to deal with physical opponents.
Florian Wirtz for Liverpool on August 4, 2025
Can Arne Slot solve Liverpool's set-piece problems?
Of the 241 goals scored in the Premier League this season, 19% (45) have been scored from corners, the highest ever proportion in a Premier League campaign.
The increasing reliance on set pieces has posed Liverpool new challenges, ones that they have so far been unable to overcome.
When asked if the Reds can improve their ability to defend set pieces, Lynch was not optimistic, telling Sports Mole: "I'm starting to believe they do not have the personnel to deal with the style of football that we're seeing throughout the Premier League, which is very direct, very focused on set pieces, throw-ins, corners, free kicks.
"I don't personally know how well [set-piece coach] Aaron Briggs is doing. You can judge him, or even Arne Slot, but he said they practised long throw-ins for the entirety of the training session the day before the Brentford game and yet they conceded one straight away.
"You can train those situations as much as you want but unless you are capable of winning first and second balls and you've got the physical profiles to do that, then your life is taken out of your own hands."
Liverpool lost 3-2 against Brentford last Saturday, and the Bees managed to open the scoring in the fifth minute thanks to Dango Ouattara, who benefitted from chaos in Liverpool's box following a long throw.
> Click here to listen to the full discussion on how Liverpool fell so far behind Arsenal in the hunt for the Premier League title
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