Liverpool was left frustrated during the defeat to Arsenal, but those irritations may have reared their head again, with another referee decision made during the weekend

It's been nearly a week since Liverpool's frustrating defeat to Arsenal, but Andoni Iraola's grievances with the refereeing in the match may have been justified in the following matchweek in a match involving the Gunners.

The Reds played out a competitive encounter with the Premier League champions at Anfield, despite a relatively slow start that allowed Kai Havertz to give the visitors the lead.

Once Iraola's side woke up, they started applying pressure. The hosts consistently got into dangerous positions, but were just not able to get a clear-cut opportunity away against a staunch Arsenal defense.

That was until an opportunity arrived for Alexander Isak, as a tempting cross saw the striker peel away from his marker, Jurrien Timber, to attempt a header towards goal. The Swedish international was fractions away from getting a headed shot off, but a pull from his opposite number appeared to deny him the chance to do that.

While Isak stayed on his feet and hardly reacted to the situation, there were furious protests from the Liverpool bench, as Iraola pleaded his case with the fourth official. The VAR decided there was no case for a penalty despite the repeated pulling of the shirt, which led to frustration.

With the match going Arsenal's way by such a slim margin, it's fair for the manager to feel aggrieved, especially after the latest decision in a game for the Gunners.

In the champions' recent clash with Hull City on Saturday, a VAR review was called for a clear shirt pull on Kai Havertz, with the forward deemed to have been stopped illegally. The referee, Farai Hallam, was seemingly willing to give a penalty, but an offside in the build-up stopped the call being made.

He said on the microphone after the review: "There is a holding offense by Blue No. 32 on Red No. 29. However, Red No. 29 is in an offside position, so the final decision will be a free-kick for offside to Hull City.” It certainly suggests that the offense would have been enough for Arsenal to get a penalty, in circumstances where Liverpool was not given one the week before.

That justifies some of the frustration Iraola felt after the game, when he made it clear he believed the Reds should have been awarded a penalty.

"There is a clear grab [of] the shirt," the manager told the BBC. "Alex [Isak] was just in front of him, he was going to head in front of the goal but couldn't because he had the shirt. I don't understand why they didn't call it, probably because he has not gone to the floor.

"I think the Gakpo one was not a penalty but the Alex one he was going to head the ball in front of the goalkeeper. He grabbed the shirt. I don't understand why it wasn't called. You have to dive, if you don't dive they won't call it."

Perhaps the Arsenal decision at the weekend was the clearest example that the Liverpool boss was right, but by now he would seemingly have moved on to preparations for the week ahead.

After defeat to Fenerbahce in midweek, it's clear that the issues run deeper than a referee call, though that won't have helped. The only solution is to put it right against Crystal Palace.