I have to admit to having been quite confused by the reaction from some quarters regarding the imminent arrival of Ronald Araújo at Anfield. The comparisons that I’ve seen to Arthur Melo, for example, don’t really stand up to any sort of scrutiny. Melo, after all, arrived with no physical fitness to speak of and managed just 13 minutes in a Red shirt before heading back to Juventus. Although Araújo has had his problems, the Uruguayan was the Barcelona captain when the 2025-2026 season came to a close, having been handed the role in the January. Yes, a number of Barcelona’s online fans have been airing their thoughts on him on social media, but do you really think that Liverpool’s online fanbase should be turned to for a genuine opinion on any of our players? The cesspool that is Twitter would be quick to denigrate every single person who has pulled on a Red shirt, up to and including Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah, if we’re honest about it.
Solving a defensive injury crisis with….Ronald Araújo! Interesting!
— Sam Tighe (@stighefootball.bsky.social) 7 August 2026 at 23:52
Is Araújo the long-term solution for Liverpool’s defensive frailties? I honestly have no idea. I am not going to pretend that I’ve watched a huge amount of him during his career. What I will say is that the situation that Richard Hughes and others have allowed us to get ourselves into is such that a short-term answer to our centre-back problem couldn’t have seen a much better player than the literal captain of the Spanish champions coming through the door. One of the criticisms that those Barca supporters have been quick to level at him is that he has a brain fart in him every now and again, which we’ve seen play out in the Champions League. That is unquestionably true, but it’s not as if Ibrahima Konaté was Mister Sensible at every turn. Another thing mentioned about Araújo is that he’s been dealing with a mental health crisis, which I’m uncomfortable criticising him for. We wouldn’t do so if it was a physical injury, after all. Perhaps on that front, Liverpool is the best place for him?
Iraola’s Style is Unquestionably There
Let’s start with the good news, then. You would be hard-pushed to find anyone who watched that first-half performance and complained about some of the football that was on offer. A big part of the reason why the powers that be at Anfield reportedly decided to make the change of Head Coach at the end of last season was the somewhat passive play that Arne Slot had brought to the Reds. I have been repeatedly reluctant to criticise anyone at the club for anything that happened during the 2025-2026 campaign because of the shock of having to deal with the loss of Diogo Jota, but it is all but impossible to argue against the fact that we didn’t play with any intensity over the course of the season. That intensity certainly looks like it is returning, with everyone having bought into what it is that the former Bournemouth manager is asking of the players. It also seems as though it is getting the best out of Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz, which is no bad thing.
Do we free up a non homegrown spot by moving Tsimi on and use Chambers as left back and CB cover? I'd keep Chambers around anyway
As fans we can't take anything from this 2nd half. I'm sure Iraola can though
Not sure Elliott is at the level for Liverpool either. Which I'm gutted about. Or Chiesa.
— Diane (@dklfc.bsky.social) 9 August 2026 at 16:21
It might not be an exaggeration to suggest that any success that the Reds might enjoy over the next 12 months will lie pretty much entirely at the feet of the Swede and the German. If Iraola is able to get us playing in a way that allows them to produce top-level football, we could yet enjoy ourselves. I don’t think anyone sensible is expecting a title challenge, given the problems with the squad, but competitions could open up for us if Iraola’s style of play takes root and we get some fortune with injuries. We played some genuinely scintillating football at times and AS Monaco looked done for by the half-hour mark. Matches don’t last 30 minutes, of course, but I’m still focussing on the positives at this point. As I wrote in my piece a couple of weeks ago, the kids that the Spanish Head Coach has available to him look decent and it is a massive shame that Ifeanyi Ndukwe is going to be elsewhere this season because of issues around his work permit.
The Squad is Thin
You will not be surprised to hear me complain that the Liverpool squad is thin. It is the drum that everyone has been banging all summer long, yet Richard Hughes hasn’t done anywhere near enough to address it. The rumours suggest that he’s been preparing himself for life in Saudi Arabia, which perhaps explains why the club have made an error in keeping him in place instead of moving him on as soon as it became clear that he had designs to do his job elsewhere. One caveat that should be pointed out is that this was the first time that any of Alisson Becker, Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch and Cody Gakpo have started a game of football since the end of the World Cup. It is also important to note that only Rio Ngumoha and Milos Kerkez would seriously be hoping to start the Premier League opener against Newcastle United out of the 11 players on the pitch when Monaco found the winner. That isn’t me saying everything is hunky-dory, though.
how did liverpool manage to spend an ungodly sum of money last summer only to have a squad with this many holes
— Grace Robertson 🏳️⚧️ (@graceonfootball.com) 7 August 2026 at 22:56
The second-half performance was a real sign of just how poor the squad is, even if the chances of all of those players having to start together without any of the ‘grown-ups’ are extremely slim. Although it is worth noting that Arsenal also lost a pre-season game today, even if the penalty shootout that they won at the end of the match has allowed the BBC to put up a misleading headline. In other words, you really can’t read too much into pre-season results. What you can do, though, is wonder why it is that Fenway Sports Group have allowed the club’s squad to become so incredibly depleted in terms of squad depth. As I always say, even those with the most negative view of the owners would have to admit that it does not serve their interests to see the Reds be anything other than successful, given the fact that it is the success that has seen the value of the club grow exponentially. There is still time, but Andoni Iraola has a lot of work to do before that match at St James’s Park.
