Arsenal beat Liverpool 1-0 at Anfield on Sunday to record their first league victory at the ground in 14 years and move three points clear at the top of the Premier League.
The decisive moment came in the 16th minute, when Kai Havertz finished from close range to silence the home crowd. Liverpool, for all their attacking intent, could find no way through a resolute Arsenal defence, despite registering 16 goal attempts.
The win was a striking response to one of the most embarrassing results in Arsenal’s recent history. Four days earlier, Mikel Arteta’s side had been knocked out of the League Cup on penalties by fourth-tier Fleetwood Town, a team 84 places below them in the English football pyramid.
Liverpool responded well to going behind. Florian Wirtz curled a free kick against the crossbar and Alexis Mac Allister headed a good chance over the bar before half-time, while the hosts felt they should have had a penalty when Jurrien Timber grabbed at Alexander Isak’s shirt.
After the break, however, Liverpool rarely looked like breaking through Arsenal’s rearguard, and their frustration boiled over late on when Mac Allister was involved in an altercation with Noni Madueke and fell theatrically to the floor after a slight touch of foreheads.
Arteta, who was part of the Arsenal team that won 2-1 at Anfield in 2012, said the performance was a direct answer to the Fleetwood defeat. “What the team has done here today is incredible,” he said. “It was really deserved, to come here and win in the manner that we have done, I think the players deserve so much credit.”
Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola praised his side’s reaction to falling behind but accepted that the title race now looks tougher. “We have to keep going. It is very early in the season. Arsenal are in the best of the situations but it is just the start of November today. A lot of games to play,” he said. On the penalty incident, he argued that Isak’s honesty in staying on his feet after being held had worked against him.
The result leaves Liverpool, who had been seeking a third league win in a row, still chasing the leaders, having missed the chance to move within three points of Arsenal. For the champions, it was a statement win at a ground where they had not won a league match since 2012.
Sources: Reuters, “Arsenal show true colours at Anfield after Fleetwood humiliation”, 1 November 2026, via https://www.reuters.com/sports/soccer/arsenal-show-true-colours-anfield-after-fleetwood-humiliation-2026-11-01/
