Arsenal win 1-0 at Anfield to go top as Havertz sinks Liverpool

Arsenal won 1-0 away to Liverpool at Anfield in the Premier League on Sunday evening, returning to the top of the table and recording their first victory at the ground since 2012.

The only goal came in the 16th minute. Arsenal won the ball back as Liverpool tried to play out from a goal-kick, Declan Rice raced down the right and sent in a low cross that found Kai Havertz at the far post, and the German finished from close range.

Liverpool, the reigning champions, came closest to an equaliser when Florian Wirtz curled a free-kick onto the crossbar before half-time, while goalkeeper Alisson made a key save in the second half. At the other end, Arsenal's defence stopped the hosts from having a single shot on target throughout the second half, as the London club pointed out.

It was Liverpool's second defeat under head coach Andoni Iraola, who made seven changes from the League Cup win over Chelsea in midweek and handed young Trey Nyoni his first Premier League start. The attendance was 60,406.

Al Majlis Analysis: The value of the win for Arsenal goes beyond three points. The team broke a 14-year hoodoo at one of England's toughest grounds, and did it the way title contenders build seasons: an early goal from high pressing, then an organised defence that did not allow a single shot on target after the break. Liverpool paid the price for heavy rotation after the cup tie, an understandable choice in a crowded schedule but a costly one in a direct meeting at the top. The question for the coming rounds is whether Iraola can balance resting players with keeping the title defence on track, now that the gap to the leaders is clearer.