An early goal and a clean sheet secured a result Arsenal had not managed in the Premier League at Anfield since 2012.

Arsenal defeated Liverpool 1-0 at Anfield on Sunday, November 1, with Kai Havertz's 16th-minute goal deciding the Premier League match. The victory ended a 14-year wait for a league win at the ground.

File photo: Kai Havertz with Arsenal on May 24, 2026; not the November 1 match at Anfield. Photo: Chensiyuan. Source photograph · CC BY-SA 4.0.

Opta Analyst's match report identified the finish from Declan Rice's cross as the decisive action. Arsenal took the lead early enough to leave Liverpool most of the match to respond, but the home side could not turn its attempts into an equalizer.

One mistake opens the route to goal

An Alisson pass while Liverpool were building from the back gave Arsenal possession, according to Opta. The attack moved to the right before Rice supplied the ball for Havertz to finish.

The sequence gave Arsenal something specific to defend. It also forced Liverpool to solve a different problem from the one at kickoff: creating a goal against an opponent able to protect an existing advantage.

Liverpool threatened before halftime. Florian Wirtz hit the crossbar with a free kick, and Alexis Mac Allister headed over. Those chances kept the margin narrow without changing it, leaving the second half to determine whether Arsenal's lead would survive.

Liverpool's attempts do not become a breakthrough

The This Is Anfield report described Liverpool's effort to find the equalizer and an Alisson save from Christos Tzolis that kept the deficit to one goal. That save preserved a chance for the hosts to recover, but the recovery never came.

Opta recorded 17 Liverpool shots with none on target. The distinction between attempts and attempts that test the goalkeeper is central to the result. Liverpool generated moments and volume; Arsenal preserved the clean sheet that made one early finish sufficient.

The game therefore cannot be reduced simply to which side looked busier while chasing it. The ball had to reach the goal, and Arsenal's defending and Liverpool's finishing kept that from happening.

Why the location adds weight

The long gap since Arsenal's previous Premier League victory at Anfield gives this result a historical frame as well as three points. It is a confirmed end to that particular run, rather than a claim that the outcome settles the season.

Arsenal left with a narrow scoreline and a substantial away result. Liverpool were left to examine why the chances and attempts did not produce the goal needed to change it. Read more European and U.S. coverage in Taken Social's Sports section.