Arsenal left Anfield with three valuable points, but Piero Hincapié also found room for a pointed dig at Virgil van Dijk on social media after the final whistle.

The defender’s three-word jab appeared to reference a post Van Dijk made in January, following a goalless meeting with Arsenal. That earlier message had drawn attention to the competition emblem, with the Liverpool captain posting while his side were still champions. The post has since been flooded with comments, many apparently from Arsenal supporters, who have continued to remind Van Dijk of it.

Van Dijk’s January caption was aimed at acknowledging the serious injury suffered by Conor Bradley in that match. He wrote: “We are a team, we are friends but most importantly we are a family,” echoing the final line of a hand-written fan letter.

Hincapié’s swipe sat awkwardly alongside a result Arsenal had every reason to celebrate on its own merits. Declan Rice played a decisive role in the winner, setting up Kai Havertz during an explosive opening spell for the visitors. Arsenal then had to absorb sustained pressure, with the hosts dominating much of the remaining 75 minutes.

Rice said the performance reflected the standards building inside the club. “For sure,” Rice agreed when this point was put to him in the postmatch mixed zone. “It’s just drilled into us. What the manager [Mikel Arteta] has built at this club and the togetherness of the lads—you don’t get that performance without the lads being all together.

“The way the manager has everything under control, the way everyone works towards everything he wants is not like anything I’ve ever seen before. So credit to us for what we have been doing for the last few years. Now it’s a massive thing to deliver again this year.”

Rice added: “We had to dig in and give it everything because they throw so many attacks at you,” Rice added. “We had to be resilient and strong. It was a great win.”

Kai Havertz’s goal against Liverpool on Sunday did more than settle the match. It also took him into Premier League history, even if the significance was easy to miss in the celebrations.

The Arsenal forward did not try to claim too much credit afterwards. Instead, he pointed to Declan Rice, whose assist made the finish straightforward. Havertz was clear in his assessment of the move, saying: “I think 90% of the goal belongs to that man,” Havertz told Sky Sports after the game. “We all know his right foot. Today he was there, brilliant overlap and perfect cross. For me it was an easy tap-in. As I said, I think that goal definitely belongs to him.”

On paper, Havertz’s record may not appear especially striking. He now has 46 goals in 172 appearances, a return that does not immediately leap off the page. Yet that is part of the long-running debate around him. Since joining Chelsea in 2020, his role has often prompted more questions than answers. He has played as a winger and across midfield, but at both London clubs he has settled in as a striker, despite neither side originally signing him for that position.

There is, however, a clear explanation for why he remains central to one of England’s strongest teams this season. Havertz has scored only four goals in 14 matches in all competitions, but three of them have come against Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool. That pattern matters.

Even last season, when injury limited him to 24 appearances and 1,066 minutes, he still managed goals against Man City and Chelsea, along with important strikes in Champions League knockout ties, including one in the final against Paris Saint-Germain.

Arsenal may yet find more goals elsewhere, perhaps from a more natural striker, but that is not certain. The fact Havertz is still starting ahead of Viktor Gyökeres says plenty. Gyökeres has the numbers, with 97 goals in 102 games for Sporting CP before 21 in his first Arsenal season, but Mikel Arteta is left weighing a different question: who delivers when it matters most.

Arsenal’s visit to Anfield was supposed to expose the scars of a difficult week. Instead, it produced a result that changes the feel of the 2026/27 Premier League season after only nine matches.

The Gunners arrived with the memory of their defeat at League Two Fleetwood Town still fresh, but they handled the occasion with the sort of control usually associated with champions. Kai Havertz’s early strike gave them the platform, and although Liverpool tried to respond with pressure and noise from the Kop, Arsenal refused to bend. Their victory was built on discipline, patience and defensive resistance, and it leaves the look of a collapse far behind them.

Opta’s latest supercomputer forecast now places Arsenal firmly on top of the table. They are projected to finish with 81.21 points and hold a 68.23% title chance, while Manchester City sit second on 71.98 projected points and 18.86% title odds. Brighton are third in the model, Liverpool fourth and Chelsea fifth.

Arsenal’s surge has also pushed their probability of retaining the Premier League title to 68.23%, a sharp rise after Manchester City suffered a second straight defeat. City remain the nearest challengers, though even their prospects are listed below 19%, not including any possible points deduction. Liverpool, already nine points back, have only a 3.06% title chance, despite being considered the most obvious alternative challenger.

Brighton remain one of the stories of the season after beating both of the top two, but Opta still gives them just a 6.86% chance of winning the league. Their more realistic target is Champions League qualification, where they are the only side outside Arsenal and City with better than even odds.

Further down, Manchester United’s position is bleak. Their winless run in all competitions has reached nine games, and Opta now gives them just a 1.48% chance of qualifying for the Champions League. In the relegation projection, Tottenham have moved clear of danger after three wins in a row, while United are suddenly among those with the greatest risk of dropping into the second tier.