Former Arsenal striker Alan Smith believes his old side "got away with one" against Liverpool, though he wanted to see much more from Florian Wirtz in the game at Anfield

Former Arsenal striker and Sky Sports pundit Alan Smith believes the Gunners "got away with one" against Liverpool at the weekend when Kai Havertz's first-half goal won the points for Mikel Arteta.

The German opened the scoring on 16 minutes after a mistake from Alisson Becker, and Arsenal restricted Liverpool from that point on. But Alexander Isak should have been awarded a penalty when he was pulled back by Jurrien Timber and that could have had a decisive impact on the result.

"They got away with one for the Isak shout," Smith admitted. "It shouldn't be the case, but so much depends on the fouled player's reaction, and most players know that.

"Alexis Mac Allister went down ridiculously when he touched heads with None Madueke. It was difficult for Isak to make a meal of it, really, because he's running one way, he's got his shirt pulled, and if he falls backwards, it's going to look a bit ridiculous.

"But you have to draw the ref's attention to it, and the VAR, and that's not right. It should just be based on the actual foul — the nuts and bolts of it. But yeah, Arsenal did get away with one."

That was a sentiment shared by Virgil van Dijk, who told reporters post-match that Isak should not have to exaggerate the contact given the number of cameras in the stadium.

"I had that question after the game as well, and I feel like I don't think it should be like that, because there are so many angles and cameras, and we are using VAR, so why should you make an extra theatrical move?" Van Dijk said.

"Because there are so many eyes on the game, but in the end, we can say what we want. They won 1-0 and we have no points today. It could have been different."

Having not been given the spot kick, Liverpool ended the game with no shots on target. Isak, Florian Wirtz and Bradley Barcola struggled to get into things.

"It's a fair point that we should expect more from the attack, given how much it cost," Smith, speaking to Best Betting Sites, added.

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"Wirtz continues to underperform, and when it is tight, you're looking at your number 10 to create some chances, to make something happen.

"He's not in that place at the moment. And Barcola coming in, obviously, up against the top defense anywhere, it's never going to be easy. But not to have a shot on target, yeah, you're wanting more from that attack."