Jurrien Timber appeared to pull Alexander Isak during Arsenal's win over Liverpool

It was a memorable win for Arsenal against Liverpool on Sunday night.

The triumph was their first at Anfield in the Premier League for 14 years and took them to the top of the table. Kai Havertz's first-half goal was enough for Mikel Arteta's side and they left Merseyside with the three points.

But there was controversy too and the Gunners' were perhaps fortunate to not give away a penalty in the opening period. Alexander Isak's shirt was pulled by Jurrien Timber as he leapt to reach a cross into the box.

The Liverpool did not go to ground and referee Andy Madley gave nothing. VAR Stuart Attwell also saw no reason to overturn the decision.

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The incident has become one of the big talking points of the Anfield showdown, with Arsenal holding on to claim a 1-0 win.

Following the match, Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola says he will urge his players to dive in future after Isak was refused the penalty.

Asked if players should go down, Iraola said: “It’s a shame you ask me this question, but honestly, yes, we have to tell them, go down, because they’re not going to call it otherwise.

“And then referees complain why they go down. Because if you don’t go down, you don’t call it. Then it’s like, no, you are all the time going down.

“But I think Alex is honest. He tries to go for the ball, everyone can see live straight away there is a clear, clear pull.” He added: “The answer is you have to dive. If you don’t dive they are not going to call it.”

Arsenal took control of the game when Havertz struck in the 16th minute after an Alisson Becker error, but they had to withstand strong pressure from the home side to claim the points.

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Liverpool dominated for long spells but, such was Arsenal’s defensive resilience, they failed to muster a shot on target for the first time since the Premier League started recording such statistics in 2003.

Arteta said: “I didn’t know about that stat but that is incredible. It didn’t feel like that, they are a team that shoots a lot and you have to be so good at blocking shots.

“It shows the commitment of every single player and to do that against that team is remarkable.”

There was also another claim for Liverpool after Cody Gakpo was challenged by Christos Tzolis but Reds manager Iraola was more frustrated by the Isak incident.

Iraola said: “I think the Isak one is a clear penalty. He’s going to head the ball in front of the goal, and they grab him where everyone sees the shirt.

“I don’t see the reason why (it was not given) – probably because he doesn’t dive or he doesn’t go to the floor. It shouldn’t be a reason not to concede a penalty.

“The Gakpo one, I think it’s a sustained holding but I understand their argument and I think they are right that they say the ball was too long and Cody wouldn’t have arrived to the ball.”