Arsenal win at Anfield for first time in 14 years as Havertz sends them top

Arsenal won at Anfield for the first time in 14 years, beating Liverpool 1-0 through a Kai Havertz goal inside the first 20 minutes. The result sends them top of the Premier League.

The gap is three points over Manchester City and nine over Liverpool, according to Sky Sports. One goal, one clean sheet, and a long wait finished.

The goal and the shape

Liverpool were sloppy playing out from the back. Arsenal took the gift.

That was the whole scoring story. Liverpool's mistake became Rice's cross and Havertz's far-post finish. Arsenal did not need a second idea after that, because they did not need a second goal.

What followed was a lesson in how to defend a lead. Sky Sports reports Liverpool put 17 shots towards David Raya's goal. None forced a save. Florian Wirtz hit the crossbar with a free-kick and Alexis Mac Allister headed over, unmarked. Neither effort was on target.

Seventeen attempts, no saves. The numbers saw it first: this was volume without threat. Liverpool had the ball and the waves of pressure, and Arsenal made all of it harmless.

Gary Neville called it "a defensive masterclass from Arsenal". For once the pundit's phrase and the data agree.

The penalty that was not given

The half-time argument was about the shirt.

The Daily Mirror reports that Jurrien Timber pulled Alexander Isak's shirt in the box as Isak went to head a Bradley Barcola cross. Replays showed the pull. Referee Andy Madley did not give a penalty and the video assistant referee did not intervene. The half-time analysis, per the Mirror, centred on that decision.

The pundits split into two camps.

• Isak should have made more of it. Daniel Sturridge said: "If he [Isak] makes more of it, it's a penalty. I don't think he makes enough of it." Neville called the lack of reaction "a very odd reaction from Isak".
• The foul should be given anyway. Jamie Carragher said: "One of the best goalscorers in the league is pulled back seven yards out and it stops him heading the ball - why does he need to make a meal of it? VAR do your job."

Ian Wright, who sided with Carragher on principle, also admitted the obvious from an Arsenal point of view: "As an Arsenal man, I'm glad we got away with it."

There is a fair point in each camp. Referees should not reward theatre, and they should not need it either. The pull was seen on replay, which is exactly what the video assistant is for. Arsenal were fortunate on that call. They were also the side that scored, defended and kept Liverpool's shots off target.

What it means

Arsenal now lead the table. Manchester City, by the Mirror's account, lost 1-0 to Brighton & Hove Albion after a 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa the previous week, two straight league defeats. That is how a three-point lead gets built: you win your own match and someone else loses theirs.

Liverpool's position is worse. They are nine points behind Arsenal, and the Mirror reports that Chelsea's win over Manchester United took them out of the top four. A team that creates 17 shots and cannot make the keeper save one has a finishing problem, and the table is now charging interest on it.

For Arsenal, the Anfield result removes a long-standing mark against them. Mikel Arteta's side did it the hard way, away from home, against a team that threw everything at them, and they did it without needing to be spectacular.

What to watch

Three things.

• Liverpool's build-up. The goal came from sloppy play out from the back. Whether it was a one-off or a habit is the first question for their next matches.
• Manchester City's response. Back-to-back defeats leave them three points behind. The reporting gives no sign yet of how they intend to answer.
• The VAR conversation. Expect the Timber and Isak incident to be replayed all week. The pundits already disagree about what a striker should have to do to win a penalty.

After a 14-year wait for an Anfield win, that is a fair way to do it.