Joe Cole, the former Liverpool midfielder, says he is a big fan of Andoni Iraola, who he spoke to during his time at Bournemouth, where the Cherries made huge progress

Andoni Iraola faces his biggest challenge yet this weekend when Liverpool hosts Arsenal in the Premier League, but the recent signs have been promising.

Beating Chelsea in the Carabao Cup earlier this week helped to further build the feel-good factor on Merseyside, with a visit from his former club, Bournemouth, secured in the quarter-finals. That was a fifth win in a row, also including victories over LASK, Brentford, Villarreal and Brighton.

"I remember I interviewed him when he first went in at Bournemouth and he was remarkably calm for someone who was losing games," ex-Reds midfielder Joe Cole said on TNT Sports during Chelsea vs Manchester United earlier.

"It is a good quality to have because some managers panic. It is what is needed at a big club like Liverpool.

"It is unusual for the club to be changing managers so often, so he needs to be given time. He still needs to get the balance right in midfield, but I think Liverpool will be fine and get Champions League football."

While Iraola has started to collect results, his side lost heavily to Manchester City when Ryan Gravenberch was sent off. The Arsenal game is the first chance to put down a marker against a team likely to be in title contention.

"It is rare to have four successive games at home, but what a fixture we have to round off that series," Virgil van Dijk writes in the official matchday program.

"Games against Arsenal are always special, and Sunday’s will be no different. I know that you guys will be up for it, and we will be too.

"These are the games everybody wants to be involved in, so let’s give it everything and look to continue our positive run of form.

"They have shown over a number of seasons what a strong team they are, and if we want to come away with all three points then we will need to be at, or at least very close to, our best.

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"That starts, as usual, with our attitude and our work ethic. You don’t get easy, comfortable afternoons in the Premier League, and you certainly don’t get them against Arsenal.

"You have to be switched on from the first second; you have to be prepared to run hard, fight for everything and help your teammates out, with and without the ball, for 90 minutes-plus."