Arsenal claimed a narrow win over Liverpool on Sunday, when Declan Rice’s (£7.4m) low cross was turned in by Kai Havertz (£7.4m).

Here are our Scout Notes from Anfield.

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ANOTHER ARSENAL CLEAN SHEET

Arsenal’s defensive assets produced points aplenty on Sunday, as Mikel Arteta’s men weathered a first-half storm to secure yet another clean sheet.

Yes, they rode their luck at times, and Andoni Iraola will probably feel like his team did enough to score (more on that later).

However, the Gunners defended brilliantly, leaving Liverpool with very little space to work.

And in the end, they simply ran out of ideas to break them down.

“We knew it wasn’t going to be easy. We’ve not won here in 14 years. We got off to a very good start, could have probably have managed the game better, but like I said, it was relentless attacks. We could have probably done a little bit more as well in front of goal, but in the end, that defensive line, the way we stick together, that togetherness we have is like nothing I’ve ever seen before.” – Mikel Arteta

That’s six clean sheets in nine matches for Arsenal now, even without William Saliba (£5.9m).

In a superb display, Ezri Konsa (£4.7m) led the way for defensive contributions (DefCon), with 15.

Riccardo Calafiori (£5.9m), who shifted to a wing-back role for the final moments, also banked DefCon.

RICE’S ASSISTS

Rice was surely Arsenal’s best player on Sunday, however.

He shielded the defence superbly, and supplied the assist for Havertz’s winner when his low cross found the German after a lovely overlapping run.

Rice has now produced five assists this season, all from open play, the most of any player except Pascal Gross (£6.2m).

He also had three shots of his own on Sunday, all from range as usual.

“The manager had a really honest conversation with me at the start of the season and still thinks that I can do more in this shirt and for this club. And this season so far, I’ve been feeling really good.

“We spoke about overlaps before the game. I spoke to this guy [Havertz] about attacking the box with real aggression. He was there, and he nearly could have had another one with the same action. So, I’m so happy for him because he deserved that goal today.” – Declan Rice

With Hull City up next, it’s also worth noting that Rice is top or joint-top among teammates for both chances created (17) and crosses (32) in 2026/27 so far.

In a further boost, Christos Tzolis (£6.1m) made his first start since Gameweek 5 after injury. He replaced Eberechi Eze (£6.2m), who had some issues leading up to this match.

A threat from the left, Tzolis played pretty well and almost scored, forcing Alisson Becker (£5.5m) into a fine save.

“It’s the energy that he had in training. When I asked him the question, how convinced he was. We had an issue with Ebs [Eze] as well, it was incredible that he was in the squad today.

“With Christos, incredible. He didn’t want to come off, he wanted to complete the game. We took some risks, but at a point we decided enough was enough.” – Mikel Arteta on Christos Tzolis

ISAK BLANK

It was a frustrating afternoon for Alexander Isak’s (£9.2m) owners.

Recruited by 784,357 squads last week, he got into some decent positions and was unlucky not to win a penalty, but ultimately blanked in a quiet display.

He won’t face a defence like Arsenal’s often, though.  

Away from Isak, Liverpool did have chances, with Florian Wirtz’s (£7.2m) free-kick hitting the bar and Alexis Mac Allister (£5.4m) putting a header over the bar when he really should have scored.

But Iraola’s men didn’t record a shot on target on Sunday, with only Mac Allister’s opportunity deemed a ‘big chance’ by Opta.

Liverpool can take positives from the performance, but creating clear-cut opportunities has been a bit of a problem for them all season.

In fact, only Coventry City have created fewer big chances than the Reds in 2026/27.

Elsewhere, the lively Bradley Barcola (£8.1m) started on his preferred left flank, with Cody Gakpo (£7.1m) playing off the right.

Ahead of Liverpool’s trip to Crystal Palace in Gameweek 10, plus some tasty longer-term fixtures, we will be doing a deep-dive on Liverpool assets this week.

“Overall, I think we have to blame especially the start of the game and until we conceded the goal. I think the start hasn’t been at the level of the game. But from that 1-0, I think it’s [after] 15 or 16 minutes, I’ve loved the reaction of the team. Even in the first half, I think we reacted really well and put Arsenal under big pressure.

“I think we’ve done enough to score but obviously we haven’t. But we had the crossbar [hit by Florian Wirtz], we had the header of [Alexis] Mac Allister that, for me, is a very clear chance. I think we had a clear penalty also for us and I think we’ve had a lot of situations inside the box – not even around the box, inside the box – that definitely we haven’t finished properly.” – Andoni Iraola

SZOBOSZLAI RETURNS

Dominik Szoboszlai (£6.7m) was back on the bench for Liverpool on Sunday after recovering from injury.

“He was desperate to start. After the Brentford game we probably went too early. We have been a bit more cautious and he will have to go through the process today. He probably plays in the second half.” – Andoni Iraola on Dominik Szoboszlai

Szoboszlai did indeed appear in the second-half, as he replaced Trey Nyoni (£4.8m) just before the hour mark.

Liverpool travel to Crystal Palace next weekend, who have notably conceded more headed goals than any other side this season. Potentially a good matchup for set-piece taker Szoboszlai, then, provided he is ready to start.