A mistake at the back — and it was all settled in a matter of seconds. In the 16th minute of the match at Anfield, Arsenal punished Liverpool for trying to play out under pressure: Declan Rice delivered a low pass to the far post, where Kai Havertz calmly finished. One goal, one mistake — and the champions of England took three points from the Reds' ground for the first time since 2012.
The victory did more than restore historical justice for the Gunners. It took Mikel Arteta's team to first place in the table with 24 points after nine rounds — three points ahead of Manchester City, who had lost to Brighton the day before. For Liverpool, this is already their second defeat of the season, and the gap to the leader has grown to nine points. But the numbers are secondary here: the match showed how thin the line is between control and vulnerability in the modern Premier League.
Arsenal did not come to Anfield to dominate the ball. Arteta's side built a compact defence, denying their opponents a single shot on target over the entire match — a rare occurrence for a Liverpool home game. Florian Wirtz hit the crossbar, Alexis Mac Allister failed to convert a header, but it went no further. The Gunners' defenders worked as a single mechanism, closing off every approach to goal.
The psychological backdrop of the match was no less important. For Arteta, it was his first victory at Anfield as a coach; for Havertz, it was the goal that made him the best German scorer in Premier League history. The team clearly remembered past failures here and approached the game with cold concentration. Liverpool, meanwhile, despite an active first half, could not reorganise after conceding and in the end looked disappointed and predictable.
This victory is not an accident but a confirmation of Arsenal's maturity. The team has learned not just to win, but to win in the most difficult conditions, turning others' mistakes into their own advantages. As in chess: one wrong move by the opponent, and the whole position collapses. In the Premier League, where every point counts, such moments determine not only the outcome of a match but the entire season.
Now Arsenal are in front, but there is still a long distance ahead. Liverpool under Arne Slot will clearly not give up, and City are already breathing down their necks. The main question is whether the Gunners will have enough of this confidence to hold the lead until spring.
