Match Report: Arsenal Victorious at Anfield for the First Time in 14 Years

Arsenal finally ended their 14 year winless drought away at Liverpool with a toughly fought 1-0 win over Liverpool. Kai Havertz added to his goal tally for the season whilst Declan Rice grabbed yet another assist, keeping his place at the top of the Premier League assist chart.

The Gunners started the match like a team with a point to prove, they dominated the first 20 minutes and reaped the rewards in the 16th minute when Kai Havertz made it 1-0.

After a great piece of pressing which forced Liverpool into a high turnover, Martin Ødegaard won the ball back and instantly played forward. His pass found Bruno Guimarães who swept the ball out wide to Noni Madueke, a rampant Declan Rice overlap was followed up by a perfect cross across the six-yard box into Havertz’ path.

However, after the visitors took the lead the majority of the chances fell to Liverpool. There were a few penalty claims from the hosts with a challenge on Alexander Isak looking the scariest of the bunch to Arsenal.

Liverpool came excruciatingly close to equalising as the first-half went on, Florian Wirtz hit the crossbar with a wicked free-kick strike and Alexis Mac Allister headed over the bar after he had a free header in a dangerous area of the Arsenal box.

That being said, Arsenal weren’t without their own chances to stretch their lead either, Havertz was just inches away from deflecting Guimarães’ shot past Alisson. There was another bog chance for Arsenal at the back post as Noni Madueke looked to head the ball down, into Havertz’ path but was accidentally blocked by teammate, Jurriën Timber.

HALF TIME: Liverpool 0 - 1 Arsenal

Arsenal had to deal with a lot of pressure from a strong Liverpool side in the second-half, facing their famous Kop End, Liverpool pushed and pushed to find an equaliser. However, the hosts failed to create any top quality opportunities.

The majority of the second-half was filled with crosses bombarded into the Arsenal box, and the Gunners’ had to really dig in and be pragmatic to see out the win. This was a ‘classic Mikel Arteta away win’, an early goal and the rest of the game was spent being resolute and strong defensively.

Despite the momentum Liverpool managed to build up at times, Arteta’s men dealt with it expertly, the mentality is what won Arsenal this historic game. An incident involving Alexis Mac Allister and Noni Madueke saw the Argentinian midfielder try his hardest to get the winger sent off. A pathetic fall, holding his head, trying to con the referee that Madueke had head-butted him but that was checked and cleared by VAR.

This was a performance many have come to expect from Arsenal, especially in big away games. Conceding very few chances and not being afraid to sit deep and have trust in the defensive talent. Arsenal conceded zero shots on target in 98 minutes of play against Liverpool, a real testament to how strong Arsenal’s defence is, even without William Saliba.

FULL TIME: Liverpool 0 - 1 Arsenal

Arsenal now go three points clear at the top of the Premier League table ahead of Manchester City. After a shock Carabao Cup exit to Fletwood Town in midweek, this victory was exactly what Arsenal needed. The Gunners now look to keep their place at the top of the table, starting with a home fixture against newly promoted, Hull City next Saturday.