Liverpool had 17 shots against Arsenal. None tested the goalkeeper.

The number is striking, but the more useful question is what sat between Liverpool’s pressure and a shot that actually made Arsenal work.

Liverpool did enough against Arsenal to fill the shot count and not enough to make David Raya save one. Opta’s match report records 17 attempts and no shots on target in the 1–0 defeat at Anfield on 1 November. It was the first time in the Premier League-era Anfield record that Liverpool had failed to hit the target.

Volume is not the same as threat

A shot total can make a team look productive while hiding the work still left to do. Liverpool had pressure and moments in the box, but the final action did not force a save. Against a side protecting a lead, that gap gives the defending team exactly what it wants: time to get back into its block and another attack to clear.

That is why the question is not simply whether Liverpool should shoot more. It is whether the last pass, first touch and shooting lane leave the forward with a clean decision. More attempts from crowded positions would enlarge the total without changing the danger.

A useful test for the next league match

Look for the quality of the first shot after Liverpool break a line, not just the final number on the scoreboard. A cutback arriving in stride, a forward receiving between centre-back and full-back, or a second ball collected at the edge of the area tells us the attack has reached a better place. The stats will confirm it; the sequence will explain it.

This is a one-match reading, not proof that Liverpool cannot create chances. But when a team makes 17 attempts and none tests the keeper, the gap between possession and threat deserves a closer look.