Alexander Isak finally showing why Liverpool and Arsenal thought he was the answer to their No.9 problems

Obviously, there's still very little sympathy for Isak over his early struggles at Liverpool, given the reason why he failed to hit the ground running was he did so little during the shameful strike that forced Newcastle to sell him.

Without a proper pre-season behind him, Isak inevitably looked a shadow of the jet-heeled attacker that had emerged as a credible threat to Erling Haaland's status as the most feared forward in England.

And just a split-second after he showed exactly why Liverpool had paid nine-figure fees for both him and Florian Wirtz, by coolly converting a through-ball from the German in a game at Tottenham Hotspur on December 20 of last year, Isak's left fibula was brutally broken by a dreadfully reckless challenge by Micky van de Ven.

Even when he did return to action, just over three months later, Isak continued to be hindered by muscular problems continually attributed to his lack of a pre-season.

It was clear that he needed to find some rhythm, a regular run of games to play himself back into form and full fitness. Consequently, this summer's World Cup arrived at the "perfect" time for Isak.

He was directly involved in four goals in North America, scoring one himself, but more importantly than that, he played all but one minute of Sweden's run to the round of 32.

The season still began with doubts over both his fitness and suitability to Iraola's style of play. Even after he opened his account for the 2026-27 Premier League campaign, in a 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest on August 29, former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock remained unconvinced.

"I was at the game," the full-back-turned-pundit told GOAL. "Isak, apart from his goal, did absolutely nothing. He was so poor. He didn't look interested at all.

"And I'm thinking, this is the guy who's meant to have had a proper pre-season, coming back hungry, fit, proving what he can do. And he didn't look like he could.

"He didn't look like he could carry the shirt. And that's a huge problem. It's that weight of expectation of the price tag to deliver.

"He doesn't look at the races at the moment. And whether that's just a little bit of an understanding with the other players around him. But you're training every single day. You should understand the game by now."

He seems to now, though.

The Friday after the Forest draw, Isak earned Liverpool their first win of the season by bagging a brace in a 2-0 victory at Ipswich. He was also on target in the three subsequent morale-boosting wins over Bournemouth, Brentford and Brighton, to take his tally to six goals in seven Premier League games, after netting just three times in 14 top-flight appearances last term.

"He's a striker that if we can put him in the right positions, if we can provide him with crosses and good situations, he will score the goals," Iraola said last weekend.

However, Arne Slot's successor has made it very clear from very early on that he doesn't just expect goals from his No.9. "It is also about other things," he said after Isak's decisive double at Ipswich. "I will demand other things so we can play well, and if we play well, we are in good positions, the goals will come for him.

"So, I think he has to contribute to the collective."

Isak still has work to do on that front. While he's aware of the importance of defending from the front under Iraola, his work-rate at times pales in comparison to that of Lewis Koumas. Cody Gakpo also quipped after setting Isak up for a few goals earlier in the season that the Sweden international owes him a few assists, and there's no denying that the 27-year-old could do with playing a bigger role in Liverpool's build-up play.

However, we've seen flashes of the formation of a productive partnership with summer signing Bradley Barcola, who set up Isak's crucial strikes against Brentford and Brighton. Furthermore, while we're not yet seeing the all-around excellence Isak produced at Newcastle, he is undoubtedly starting to look like his old, clinical self.

Certainly, Isak's tendency to almost completely disappear from games is a problem that Arteta would accept right now, given Viktor Gyokeres only scored his first goal of the current campaign in Tuesday's humiliating Carabao Cup loss to Fleetwood Town - a game that highlighted the erratic nature of Kai Havertz's finishing.

Arsenal obviously hoped that Gyokeres would prove a cheaper but no-less effective alternative to Isak but that that simply hasn't proven the case. The former Sporting CP striker has plenty of attributes, particularly from a physical perspective, but he misses far more chances than he converts. Isak is nowhere near as profligate. And he remains a potential difference-maker.

For all his ups and downs over the past year, he clearly hasn't lost his Haaland-like ability to decide a game with just a couple of touches - and Arteta could really do without a reminder of that fact at Anfield on Sunday.