Arsenal have beaten Liverpool at Anfield for the first time in the league since 2012. Kai Havertz scored the only goal, in the 16th minute, and Mikel Arteta's side then kept a clean sheet that felt as important as the finish. The win puts the champions on 24 points after nine games, three clear of Manchester City.
Havertz arrived at the far post to meet a low cross from Declan Rice. Arsenal had chances to add to it, including efforts from Bruno and Noni Madueke, but one goal was enough. Liverpool had the ball and the crowd. They did not have a shot on target in the second half. Saturday had already taken points off City and from Manchester United.
That was Arteta's line before kick-off. He was Arsenal captain for the 2-0 win here in 2012, the last league success on this ground. Between then and Sunday the club made 16 trips to Anfield in all competitions without a win. He also said the Carabao Cup defeat at Fleetwood on Tuesday could be useful rather than fatal. The performance that followed was organised, narrow, and short on sentiment. It was Arsenal's 300th Premier League away win, and their first clean sheet at Anfield in the league since that afternoon in 2012.
What the table says on Monday morning
Premier League After Sunday
- Arsenal 24 points from nine games. Manchester City 21. Brighton 19. Chelsea 16. Liverpool 15.
- Arsenal have 14 goals scored and five conceded, and six clean sheets this season.
- Twenty-four points is the most any side has had after nine games since Arsenal themselves in 2022-23. Only 2004-05 and 2007-08 were better for this club at the same stage.
- Manchester United are 17th on seven points after losing 2-0 at Chelsea with ten men.
- Newcastle, on 11 points from eight games, host Everton, on 10 from eight, at St James' Park at 8pm. The fixture was moved from Saturday.
City's home defeat by Brighton on Saturday is what turns a hard away win into a three-point lead. Brighton are third, with a goal difference of plus 17, the best in the division. Chelsea's 2-0 win over United, with Morgan Rogers and Cole Palmer on the scoresheet, lifts them to fourth. Liverpool stay fifth. The gap from first to fifth is nine points, which is a title race with a shape, and a chase that now includes a club that has just failed to score at home against the leaders.
Why the second half mattered
Anfield has undone Arsenal before when the game was already theirs. In April 2023 they led 2-0 and drew 2-2 after the afternoon boiled over. On Sunday they led once and did not invite the second act. Arteta's side have been accused, after the Fleetwood penalties, of treating cups as optional. They did not treat this league game that way. Liverpool, under the demand to play on the front foot, lacked the last pass. The result is a historical footnote that is also a table fact: the champions have the best start, by points, of anyone in four seasons, with only two of their own campaigns this century ahead of it.
What comes next
Arsenal go to Slavia Prague on Wednesday, matchday four of the Champions League, then face Hull City at home next Saturday before the November international break. Liverpool have to answer a home defeat without a shot on target after the interval. Tonight belongs to Tyneside. Newcastle against Everton is live on Sky Sports at 8pm. A win for either side, both of them still on eight league games, would push them up a crowded middle. The weekend began with Arsenal and City level on 21 points. It ends with a different argument, and one match still to play.