Havertz strike hands Arsenal a rare 1-0 win at Anfield as Rice impresses, Wirtz criticised

Arsenal beat Liverpool 1-0 at Anfield in the Premier League on 1 November 2026, Kai Havertz's first‑half goal the match's only score.

The victory was Arsenal's first at Anfield since 2012 and moved them to the top of the Premier League; Declan Rice was singled out in the ratings for a lively midfield display while Florian Wirtz drew criticism for another unconvincing outing. BBC Sport's player ratings for both sides were published alongside user scores.

Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson was judged to have made a decisive error with a poor pass that led to Havertz's goal but also produced a notable save to deny Christos Tzolis, earning a 4. The Liverpool defence received mixed marks: Ronald Araujo 6 after his 12th consecutive start, Jeremy Jacquet 6 with a superb second‑half tackle, and Virgil van Dijk 6 despite the goal conceded; Milos Kerkez was given 5, having delivered a cross Alexis Mac Allister should have headed in.

In attack for Liverpool, Trey Nyoni was entrusted with his first Premier League start and graded 6 after a nervous start that improved; Alexis Mac Allister received a 6, Bradley Barcola 7 for causing Arsenal problems, Florian Wirtz 6 after hitting the bar with a first‑half free‑kick and attracting the comment that "a player with his price tag simply has to do more in big games", Cody Gakpo 5 with an appeal for a penalty waved away by Andy Madley, and Alexander Isak 5 despite getting into good positions.

Liverpool substitutes Szoboszlai came on at 59 for Nyoni and was rated 6; Ngumoha (on 67 for Gakpo) was given 5 and was noted for not getting on the ball as much as he would have liked. Munoz (on 82 for Araujo), Koumas (on 82 for Wirtz) and Tsimikas (on 82 for Kerkez) were introduced late to try to change the game. Subs not used for Liverpool were Mamardashvili, Gomez, Endo and Gravenberch.

Arsenal's starting XI earned generally higher marks: goalkeeper David Raya 7, Jurrien Timber 7, Ezri Konsa 8, Gabriel Magalhaes 8 and Riccardo Calafiori 8. Declan Rice was awarded 8, credited with providing the assist for Havertz's goal and described as Arsenal's best player for his energy in midfield; Bruno Guimaraes was given 6 and was involved in the move for the opener.

Further Arsenal ratings included Martin Odegaard 6 for winning the ball that started the goal move, Noni Madueke 6 after starting following a knock, Christos Tzolis 6 in his first start since September and Kai Havertz 7 for scoring the only goal of the game "which he needed after a difficult couple of matches". Myles Lewis‑Skelly (on 62 for Guimaraes) was rated 7, Piero Hincapie (on 84 for Tzolis) 6, Viktor Gyokeres (on 84 for Havertz) 6 and Merino (on 88 for Odegaard) 6. Subs not used for Arsenal were Arrizabalaga, Mosquera, White, Eze and Zubimendi.

After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users.

The result moved Arsenal to the top of the Premier League following their rare win at Liverpool.