Arsenal secured a historic 1-0 victory over Liverpool at Anfield, ending their 14-year wait for a Premier League win at the venue since 2012. The win was courtesy of Kai Havertz's 11th-minute strike, which proved decisive. The Gunners moved three points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table with 24 points from nine matches.
Liverpool struggled to find a breakthrough despite registering 17 attempts on goal, with Florian Wirtz hitting the crossbar and two penalty appeals waved away as Arsenal produced a resilient defensive display to preserve their clean sheet. The Reds had two penalty claims waved away before Wirtz crashed a free-kick against the crossbar.
Havertz made Premier League history with his match-winning effort, taking his tally to 46 goals to become the competition's all-time leading German goalscorer, overtaking former Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gündogan's record of 45 goals. The win propelled Arsenal to the top of the log, with Liverpool slipping to fifth position, nine points behind the North London side.
Arsenal coach, Mikel Arteta, was delighted with the hard-fought victory, which he attributed to the team's spirit and resilience. "Extremely proud. It's been 14 years; that's a long time. I'm sure we made everybody attached to the club extremely proud today. Not only for the victory but for the way we've done it, the spirit we've shown," he said.
Liverpool coach, Andoni Iraola, disagreed with the officials' decision to deny the team two penalties in the encounter. He said, "Especially the Alex [Isak] one. Gakpo was sustained holding, I understand. The Alex one is a clear penalty. You hold the shirt; we can all see that he holds the shirt."
Despite the defeat, Iraola was delighted with the team's reaction and performance. "We had good chances – we hit the crossbar and had good situations we were not able to finish. We definitely deserved a goal. I loved the reaction from my players after going 1-0 down. We finished the first half very well, kept pushing," he added.
The win marked a significant milestone for Arsenal, who will return to action against Hull City, while Liverpool will face Crystal Palace on Sunday. According to OPTA Stats, Liverpool have scored just four goals at Anfield in the Premier League this season, their joint-fewest after five home matches in a top-flight campaign.
Key points
- - Kai Havertz scored the only goal to lead Arsenal to a 1-0 win over Liverpool for their first win at Anfield since 2012. - The victory moved Arsenal three points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table with 24 points from nine matches. - Havertz became the all-time leading German goalscorer in the Premier League with 46 goals, overtaking Ilkay Gündogan's record of 45 goals.
