Three standout players from Arsenal's history-making win over Liverpool at Anfield
Arsenal ended their long wait for a win at Anfield as they defeated Liverpool 1-0 in their own backyard on Sunday evening.
Kai Havertz grabbed the decisive goal for the Gunners after 16 minutes when he arrived at the back post at the right time to meet Declan Rice's teasing low cross and fire past Alisson. The Reds pushed for an equaliser, but were denied by the visitors' resolute defending.
While it wasn't the prettiest of wins for Mikel Arteta's side, it was an important one, and one that required a heroic team performance. Despite the entirety of Arsenal's XI putting in a shift, there were three players that stood out at Anfield.
Three standout players from Arsenal's history-making win over Liverpool
Declan Rice
At this point, anyone who says Declan Rice is a centre back needs to give their head a real wobble.
Facing against the former side of one of his harshest critics, Graeme Souness, the midfielder completely ran the show in the middle of the park to help his side to one of their biggest wins in recent history.
Demonstrating his outstanding attacking ability, he raced down the right side to collect a pass from Noni Madueke and send a teasing cross in for Havertz to meet and fire in at the back post.
As his side sat on the backfoot for much of the game's remainder, Rice helped out to defend brilliantly, making three tackles, two clearances and one interceptions, while also presenting himself as an option with impressive runs.
Going to a stadium like Anfield and coming away with a standout performance isn't an easy feat to achieve, but Rice certainly managed it on Sunday.
Christos Tzolis
Back in the starting lineup after a lengthy spell out with injury, Christos Tzolis marked his comeback with an impressive display on the left wing, one that showed he can be trusted to see Arsenal through until January.
Having spent over a month on the sidelines, the Greek would have been forgiven for having a rusty return at Anfield, but he caused plenty of problems for Liverpool on the way to helping the Gunners seal their big win.
Tzolis didn't always have the service he would have wanted due to his side being pinned back for much of the game, but he did what he could with the ball when he did have it. The winger was a source of trouble with his tricky feet and should have had an assist with a perfectly weighted cross to Madueke at the back post.
His wait for a first goal in Arsenal colours goes on though as he was denied a maiden strike by a brilliant Alisson save. The Brazilian got down well to turn away Tzolis' effort that was heading in to the bottom right corner. A failure to score should not take anything away from the Greek's standout showing though.
Ezri Konsa
An absolute rock at the back. Ezri Konsa is certainly going to give William Saliba a run for his money once he is back from injury.
The centre back was absolutely crucial in his side taking a rare clean sheet from the red half of Merseyside has he made a whopping 15 defensive contributions to keep Liverpool at bay. Those included five tackles, two blocks and eight clearances, as well as also making five recoveries and winning all seven of his ground duels.
Two of Konsa's best moments came when he dived in on Bradley Barcola down the left side of the box to clear the ball in a dangerous area, ahead of blocking an effort from Florain Wirtz during one of many onslaughts by the Reds.
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