Liverpool (AFP) - Arsenal rose up after the thunderous exit from the League Cup competition and beat its host Liverpool 1-0 on Sunday in the ninth stage of the English Football League, so it took the lead by taking advantage of its partner Manchester City’s stumble on Saturday by losing to Brighton 0-1.

Published on: 01/11/2026 - 19:33 Last updated: 01/11/2026 - 20:33

Spanish coach Mikel Arteta's team owes this victory to German Kai Havertz, who scored the only goal in the 16th minute.

Arsenal received a major shock by losing to Fleetwood Town, a fourth-tier club, in the fourth round of the League Cup competition in midweek.

But the “Gunners” achieved the most important thing by defeating Liverpool in their stronghold and topped the championship, taking advantage of the second loss in a row and the second in the league this season to Manchester City, which allowed them to break the partnership and move away with three points.

Despite being crowned champions last season, Arsenal was unable to beat Liverpool back and forth, but rather lost to them in the first match before they tied in the second.

Arsenal achieved its first victory over Liverpool since February 2024, but more importantly, it broke a long negative series at Anfield during which it had not achieved a victory in 14 years in the league, as its last victory at Liverpool Stadium dates back to March 2012.

“It has been a long time without this feeling here, and it is a feeling we needed,” Arteta said, adding, “We are very happy with what the team, the players and everyone provided.”

The match did not give its followers the excitement they were waiting for, especially from Liverpool, which failed to shoot on goal throughout the match, even though it was the most dominant.

In the first half, not much was provided until the opening goal from Havertz, who capitalized on a perfect cross from Declas Reis and easily put the ball into the net (16).

Havertz became the best German scorer in the history of the English Premier League by scoring 46 goals, surpassing former Manchester City player Ilkay Gundogan, according to the Opta statistical network.

Brazilian Bruno Guimaraes tried to double the score with a shot from inside the area above the goal (24), then Rice himself tried with an easy shot in the hands of Brazilian Alisson Becker (25), while the response came with a header from the Dutch captain Virgil van Dijk, which was cleared at the right time by the Spanish goalkeeper David Raya from the Swedish Alexander Isak (27).

Liverpool players then attempted shots that were not accurate, with the exception of German Florian Wirtz's attempt from a direct free kick that hit the crossbar (39) and Argentine Alexis McAllister's header over the goal (43).

The situation did not change much in the second half, but the performance declined further with the entry of defender Miles Lewis-Skelly from Arsenal (62) in light of Liverpool fielding Hungarian midfielder Dominik Soboslai (58) and striker Rio Ngomoha (67).

Greek Christos Zoulis was close to doubling the score for Arsenal with a beautiful shot that Becker brilliantly blocked (73), while Liverpool ended the match without a shot on goal.

However, Liverpool's Spanish coach Andoni Iraola noted, "I liked many moments in the match. I liked the players' reaction after falling behind by a goal."

He continued, "We have to continue. The season is still early. Arsenal is in their best condition, but we are still at the beginning of November."

© 2026 AFP

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