Liverpool 0-1 Arsenal: Reds Mistake Punished as Havertz Settles Anfield Clash

Liverpool hosted their fourth home game in a row as Arsenal arrived on Merseyside looking to put an end to the momentum building under Andoni Iraola.

Unbeaten in their last five games, scoring 15 goals and having different areas of their game tested by each opponent.

Whether that is a professional away trip vs LASK or a strong mentality shown against Chelsea midweek.

So could Liverpool overcome their biggest challenge yet against the reigning Premier League champions?

Andoni Iraola made one change from his last Premier League starting XI, with Trey Nyoni being chosen ahead of Ryan Gravenberch, who dropped down to the bench.

The Gunners settled into the contest immediately and not for the first time this campaign, Liverpool looked miles off their best for the first 10-15 minutes.

And unlike in previous games where the quality of the opposition team allowed Iraola's side to get away with a lethargic start, Arsenal had the ability to punish.

An overlapping run from Declan Rice exposed a shaky Liverpool defence and a non-existent midfield.

The England international played a ball across the six-yard box for Kai Havertz to tap it into an empty net, 1-0 to Arsenal.

And despite an initial response from Iraola's side, Arsenal continued to threaten, with Jurrien Timber getting in the way of his own teammate, preventing an almost certain Gunners goal.

But the Reds began asserting more and more control on the game as the half went on, with Arsenal being camped outside their penalty area, desperate for a way out.

Cross after cross was played into the box, and despite many of those being of a high quality, Liverpool just couldn't find a way of converting chance after chance.

The highlight of this pressure posed by LFC was a ball played into the box by Milos Kerkez, met by a late-arriving Alexis Mac Allister, but his header sailed over the bar.

And at half time it was 1-0 to Arsenal, with Andoni Iraola needing to find a way for his side to take their chances on goal during the break.

No changes from either side at half time, as the Reds looked to continue their dominance while adding a goal to show for it.

The pressure from Liverpool continued for the first 10 minutes of the second half, with more crosses into the box by Kerkez and Araujo, but yet again no finishing quality to match.

The first change for the home side came in midfield as Trey Nyoni's first Premier League start came to an end just before the hour mark, with Dominik Szoboszlai, on his return from injury, coming on in his place.

A few minutes later, Rio Ngumoha would enter the fray in place of Cody Gakpo, who looked off it for most of the game and had played a lot of minutes recently.

A major flash point in a otherwise uneventful second half up to that point was VAR's check for a possible red card for Arsenal and Noni Madueke.

Alexis Mac Allister provoked an argument between the two sets of players, during which Madueke pushed his head towards Mac Allister.

However, after a lengthy review, VAR deemed the contact not forceful enough for a red card.

Liverpool's final three changes were then introduced for the final 10 minutes of normal time.

On came Kostas Tsimikas, Victor Munoz and Lewis Koumas and Milos Kerkez, Ronald Araujo and Florian Wirtz.

But despite the Reds pushing hard for an equaliser, it wasn't to be, and Arsenal left Anfield with all three points and their first victory on the red side of Merseyside in 14 years.