Havertz punishes Alisson's mistake as Arsenal shut Liverpool out

Alisson’s attempted pass out from the back towards Jérémy Jacquet was intercepted by Martin Ødegaard, allowing Arsenal to work the ball across to Declan Rice. His low delivery gave Havertz the close-range finish he needed. Liverpool had offered little protection against the mistake, but they had enough attacking threat to make Arsenal work for what followed.

The equaliser looked possible before half-time. Florian Wirtz curled a free-kick against the crossbar, while Alexis Mac Allister sent an unmarked header over from Milos Kerkez’s cross. Those chances kept Liverpool in the contest, but they also proved to be the clearest openings the hosts would create.

After the break, Arsenal made a different kind of statement. Liverpool had more of the ball but found increasingly little room to threaten David Raya. They finished with 56% possession and no shots on target, while Christos Tzolis came closer to extending Arsenal’s lead than Liverpool did to erasing it.

For Mikel Arteta, the result was more than a welcome return to winning form after the cup defeat at Fleetwood. Arsenal secured their first league victory at Anfield since September 2012, while ending Liverpool’s five-match winning run in all competitions. The Gunners leave with a three-point lead at the top; Liverpool are left to examine why their control of the ball produced so little danger.