LIVERPOOL — Arsenal made a huge statement in the Premier League title race by securing a 1-0 victory over Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.
A first-half goal from Kai Havertz was enough to seal the Gunners’ first win at Liverpool’s home stadium in over 14 years. The result sees Mikel Arteta’s move to the top of the Premier League table, three points clear of second-placed Manchester City.
Havertz opened the scoring inside 17 minutes, tapping in at the far post from Declan Rice‘s cross. However, Liverpool responded well to the early setback and were frustrated not to have been awarded a penalty for Jurriën Timber‘s shirt pull on Alexander Isak inside the box.
The Reds came close to restoring parity late in the first half when Alexis Mac Allister nodded over the bar after a dangerous ball into the box from Milos Kerkez. Arsenal later had a big chance to double their lead when Christos Tzolis saw his low drive tipped around the post by Alisson. Ultimately though, Havertz’s goal was enough to secure all three points for Arteta’s side and to end Liverpool’s five-game winning run in all competitions. — Beth Lindop
1. Arsenal end their Anfield hoodoo with gritty defensive display
Arsenal just don’t win at Anfield. They have not recorded a victory on this ground since Sept. 2012 — when manager Mikel Arteta was a player. Often they have crumbled here — think 4-0 in 2021, 5-1 in 2018 or 4-0 in 2017 — and even last season when there were already early signs that Liverpool looked vulnerable in their title defence, Arsenal were too passive and lost to a brilliant 83rd-minute Dominik Szoboszlai free-kick.
– VAR Review: Were Liverpool denied a clear penalty?
And so they arrived at this famous old ground with familiar questions around their character, especially after losing to Fleetwood Town in the Carabao Cup, and how they would go about it: go to dominate like they attempted at Bayern Munich, or slip into a more familiar conservative approach?
Their bravery was ultimately rewarded.
Arsenal dug in for long periods, particularly in the first half, but that was simply due to the quality of Liverpool’s response to falling behind. They restricted Liverpool to little of note in the second half, aided by a bold substitution as Arteta replaced Bruno Guimarães with the more attack-minded Myles Lewis-Skelly on 62 minutes.
It is fitting that Arsenal went top of the table with a statement win like this. There is now only Premier League ground left in which Arteta has played and never won: Manchester City. — James Olley
2. Liverpool need to learn from Arsenal’s defending
The game was only 20 minutes old when Bruno Guimares celebrated a block inside his own penalty area with the same enthusiasm as if he’d scored a goal. It was an embodiment of Arsenal’s unerring commitment to defending, something Liverpool need to learn from if they have ambitions of challenging for major honours in the near future.
While Declan Rice was deservedly credited with a fine assist for Havertz’s winner, it was Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson who gave his opponents a helping hand when his stray pass into midfield started the sequence that led to the goal. The Brazil international’s distribution has been an issue for some time, and he was fortunate not to be punished for some errant passing against Brighton & Hove Albion last weekend.
Of course, even the best players make mistakes; yet Arsenal are proof of the tenacity, resilience and levels of concentration required to excel in an increasingly physical Premier League. The summer arrivals of Ronald Araujo and Jérémy Jacquet have shored up Liverpool’s defence, but Arsenal are still the gold standard when it comes to shutting teams out and they continue to prove that while goals win you games, it is defence that wins you titles. — Lindop
3. Humble Havertz outshines Liverpool’s all-star attack
It is perhaps unfair to suggest that a Champions League winner — and somebody who scored the winning goal no less — like Havertz is not a star in his own right. After all, his goal here made him the Premier League’s all-time leading goalscorer from Germany on 46, surpassing Ilkay Gündogan. But Arsenal signed Viktor Gyökeres in 2025 because they felt they needed an upgrade in the centre-forward position while also scouring the market this summer in the hope Julián Álvarez, Morgan Rogers or Julian Alvarez might bolster their attack.
Contrast that with Liverpool’s front four on Sunday: Alexander Isak (£125m), Bradley Barcola (£123m), Florian Wirtz (£116.5m) and Cody Gakpo (£37m) cost a combined £401.5m in transfer fees. Arsenal’s quartet of Havertz (£67.5m), Martin Odegaard (£34m), Christos Tzolis (£34m) and Noni Madueke (£52m) cost £187.5m. Price tags are no guarantee of success, but there is an irony in a team that craved a big money attacker beating the side that has made several, and keeping a clean sheer in the process.
This wasn’t a scintillating attacking display, but a combination of power, guile and fight that made the difference, and Havertz has another big goal to add to his collection. — Olley
4. Finally, the intensity is back at Liverpool
The majority of the noise towards the end of Sunday’s game was emanating from the away fans, who taunted the Anfield crowd with defiant chants of “Campeones.”
With Liverpool now nine points adrift of Arteta’s side, it seems unlikely they will reclaim their Premier League crown this term. However, once the dust has settled on a disappointing defeat, Reds’ supporters will reflect on plenty of positives from their team, who dominated for large periods against the reigning champions.
After Arsenal took an early lead, Liverpool went through the gears and put their visitors under enormous pressure. They went into the break having had 28 touches in the opposition box — the most on record (since 2008-09) by any side in the first half of a Premier League game against Arsenal.
Considering the wealth of expensive attacking talent at their disposal, Liverpool will be disappointed that they did not register a single shot on target, and the quality of their chances diminished in the second half. However, the noise inside Anfield as the hosts pushed for an equaliser spoke of a crowd who believe their team are at the beginning of a potentially special process under manager Andoni Iraola, whose dynamic, front-footed style is already very popular on Merseyside. — Lindop
