Arsenal End 14-Year Anfield Drought After Defeating Liverpool to Claim Top Spot
Arsenal bounced back from a humiliating Carabao Cup exit to League Two side Fleetwood Town by securing their first victory at Anfield in 14 years, defeating Liverpool 1-0 on Sunday courtesy of a first-half strike from Kai Havertz.
Manager Mikel Arteta had previously led the Gunners on the pitch as captain during their last victory at the venue, a 2-0 win back in 2012. Following that match, the London club endured a winless streak of 16 games across all competitions at Anfield before Sunday’s triumph.
Just four days prior to the fixture, Arsenal suffered an embarrassing defeat in Lancashire against Fleetwood. However, Arteta suggested that the heavy setback ultimately served as motivation for his squad to achieve a historic result. The visitors relied on a disciplined defensive performance, successfully neutralizing continuous pressure from Liverpool throughout the match. After taking the lead, Arsenal absorbed heavy waves of attacks before the interval. While the second half proved slightly more composed, the team maintained strong defensive resilience and prevented Liverpool from registering a single shot on target.
The clean sheet was Arsenal’s first in the Premier League at Anfield since 2012. It also marked their sixth clean sheet of the current league campaign. With this victory, the Gunners advanced to 24 points after nine matches, establishing a three-point advantage at the summit of the Premier League standings. This points tally represents the highest achieved by any club at this stage of a season since Arsenal’s own performance in the 2002-03 campaign. Furthermore, only during the 2004-05 and 2007-08 seasons have the Gunners recorded more points after nine games.
Declan Rice, who provided the assist for Havertz’s decisive goal, highlighted the relentless nature of playing at Anfield and praised his teammates’ collective spirit. Havertz acknowledged the significance of the result for the supporters, noting the unusual length of their winless run at the ground.
Despite sitting two points ahead of where they were at the same point last season, Arsenal’s attack has not yet reached peak fluidity, having netted only 14 goals in nine matches. Arteta has faced limited attacking choices due to an injury to Bukayo Saka, a suspension for 16-year-old Max Dowman following a red card against Fleetwood, Christos Tzolis returning from a hamstring issue, and inconsistent form from both Viktor Gyokeres and Havertz. Nevertheless, the defensive unit, which conceded just 27 goals over the entirety of the previous season, once again demonstrated its capacity to carry the team forward. Arteta expressed immense pride in the achievement, highlighting the unity and character displayed by his players in overcoming both their recent cup disappointment and a long-standing historical hurdle.
Sources: BBC News
Aggregated summary. Original: BBC News