Liverpool threw 17 shots at Arsenal at Anfield on Sunday and did not force David Raya into a single save. The Gunners' 1-0 win, sealed by Kai Havertz in the 16th minute, was not just their first Premier League victory at Anfield since 2012 — it was a defensive performance that rewrote the record books, leaving Liverpool without a shot on target in a home league game for the first time on record.
Havertz tapped home Declan Rice's low cross at the back post to put Arsenal ahead. What followed was 74 minutes of sustained Liverpool pressure — and a masterclass in keeping a team at arm's length.
The Record That Says Everything
According to The xG Philosophy, cited by Sports Mole, Arsenal conceded just 0.00 expected goals on target (xGOT) at Anfield — a record low for a visiting team there in the Premier League era, with the outlet noting that no team had ever done this to Liverpool at Anfield in Premier League history.
Opta's numbers underline how strange the afternoon was. Liverpool had 28 touches inside Arsenal's box in the first half alone, the most on record since 2008-09 by any team in the opening period of a league game against Arsenal. Yet the Reds failed to register a shot on target in a home Premier League game for the first time on record since 2003-04 — in what was their 442nd league match at Anfield in that period.
The chances Liverpool did create were half-chances and near misses. Florian Wirtz rattled the crossbar with a free-kick, Alexis Mac Allister headed a golden opportunity over the bar when unmarked, and Raya produced one important intervention to stop Virgil van Dijk's flick-on reaching Alexander Isak. At the other end, Alisson denied Christos Tzolis a second goal that would have killed the contest.
Rice, Konsa and a Back Four Entering Adams Territory
Sky Sports called the display a defensive masterclass, and the individual numbers back that up. Ezri Konsa, stepping into the back line, won all eight of the duels he contested. Arsenal also won 18 fouls, breaking up Liverpool's momentum whenever the pressure threatened to build.
Above all, there was Rice. The midfielder provided the assist for the winner, recorded 63 touches — the most of any Arsenal player — and anchored the middle of the pitch as Liverpool's waves kept coming. Jamie Carragher, quoted by Sky Sports, called him world class and the best midfield player in the Premier League by a long way, and went further on the defence itself: to come to Anfield under that much pressure and concede no shot on target and no big chance, he said, brings this back four close to the conversation about Tony Adams and Arsenal's famous title-winning defences of 1989 and 1991.
Rice himself put it in dressing-room terms: the way the defensive line sticks together, he said, is undefeated, and the togetherness is nothing he has ever seen before. Mikel Arteta called the performance remarkable, saying it was not only the victory but the way his players had done it, the spirit they showed and the commitment in every action — four days after the Fleetwood cup humiliation, a point he made himself.
There is a pattern behind it, too. Under Arteta, Arsenal have won 81.1 per cent of the Premier League matches in which they have opened the scoring, and their 33 league wins by a 1-0 scoreline under him are the most of any side in that time. This is a team built to score first and then shut the door — and boosted by the triple boost in the build-up, with key players returning for the trip.
So What: A Title Statement and a Liverpool Problem
The consequences run in both directions. Arsenal sit three points clear of Manchester City at the top after nine games, with 24 points, and they have now won at the ground that had resisted them for 13 straight league visits. Winning 1-0 at Anfield, with a clean sheet built on a record, is the kind of result title winners point back to in May.
For Liverpool and Andoni Iraola, the numbers are becoming a problem rather than a blip. The Reds are fifth, nine points behind the leaders, have scored just four league goals in five Anfield outings this season, and their attacking metrics — 13.3 expected goals ranking only tenth, and 12 big chances created ranking joint-19th — say the service to Isak and the end product from Wirtz and Bradley Barcola are not matching the money spent. Arsenal's structure exposed that, but Iraola cannot hide behind one brilliant defensive display: his side created pressure all afternoon and produced nothing that tested the goalkeeper.
Beyond the Final Whistle: verdict — this was not a smash-and-grab. Arsenal planned to suffer, scored early through Havertz, and then produced the most complete defensive away performance the Premier League has recorded at Anfield. A back four being mentioned in the same breath as Adams, protected by the league's best midfielder in Rice, is a title credential no amount of possession against them can argue with. Liverpool's attack, not Arsenal's luck, is the story Iraola has to fix.
Was this the best defensive performance of the Arteta era — and can Liverpool's attack recover before the title race leaves them behind? Let us know in the comments.
