There was a time when Mikel Arteta resorted to gimmicks in his bid to win at Anfield. He has tried blasting out You’ll Never Walk Alone at Arsenal’s training ground. That didn’t work.

Assembling this redoubtable, forceful side did. Five days after the worst result of Arteta’s reign came one of the best. “The defeat against Fleetwood looks the end of the world,” said Arteta. In contrast, this made him feel on top of the world.

Anfield may not quite be the final frontier for the Spaniard – perhaps winning at the Etihad Stadium is or, more importantly, winning the Champions League is – but another ambition has been realised.

For the first time in 14 years, Arsenal return from Anfield with three points. Captain then, Arteta is manager now. A victory that was hard-fought and hard-earned had his imprint on it. Arsenal were defensively brilliant. For the first time since numbers were compiled in 2003, Liverpool failed to have a shot on target in a Premier League game at Anfield. “I didn’t know about that stat but that is incredible,” said Arteta.

In a tale of two goalkeepers, Alisson made a mistake for Kai Havertz’s decider while, remarkably, David Raya did not have save to make. It was testament to the way his teammates showed a willingness to block shots, crosses and anything else in their path. “That togetherness is undefeated, nothing I have ever seen before,” said Declan Rice.

That Havertz got the goal was instructive in its own way. Without playing particularly well, he ended his drought. His first goal in 10 outings was a reminder he remains a big-game scorer. That Arsenal did not add an elite attacker in the summer can leave their forward line with a prosaic look.

But this was an illustration of why Arteta committed much of his budget to the battle-hardened pair of Ezri Konsa and Bruno Guimaraes; for days like this. Almost three months into Arsenal’s season, William Saliba has not featured yet and Konsa has ensured it barely matters. Where Liverpool had a rookie in midfield, with Trey Nyoni preferred to a fit-again Dominik Szoboszlai and the unused Ryan Gravenberch, Arsenal had a £75m sidekick to Rice.

And Rice was the best player on the pitch in one of the biggest games of the season. “Ninety per cent of the goal belongs to Declan Rice,” said Havertz. The Englishman was the provider of the only goal in one respect, sliding a low cross to the far post for the German to finish, but there was an inadvertent assist from Alisson. Not for the first time this season, his distribution was strangely poor to gift Arsenal possession in the final third.

“We are to the blame, especially from the beginning of the game,” admitted Iraola. But, in different ways, it was a demonstration of Arsenal’s power. A second trip to the north-west in a few days brought a very different outcome. Embarrassed at Fleetwood, there were ecstatic at Anfield. It was an emphatic response

It could also have consequences. The gap between them now stands at nine points. Even at this early stage, that looks insurmountable for Liverpool. If so, their title race may be run when the starting gun has barely been fired.

Arsenal did become champions last season despite failing to score against Liverpool. In one respect, anyway, there will not be a repeat. Beaten 1-0 at Anfield last season, they got the opposite scoreline.

It was not purely about defence. Arsenal committed plenty of players forward in the first half. They could have scored another. Guimaraes angled a shot wide. Jurrien Timber could not turn the ball in from close range. Alisson made amends in part with a terrific save to keep out Christos Tzolis’ low curler.

Not that Arsenal came to Anfield to make friends. Iraola thought Liverpool were wronged when Alexander Isak’s shirt was grabbed by Jurrien Timber in the box. “It is a clear penalty,” he said. Isak, he felt, was “too honest” to go to ground. Meanwhile, some of the times Arsenal flung themselves to the turf were unedifying, while Raya ended up with a caution for time-wasting.

Liverpool ended up frustrated. They showed their energy in the first half, a high-octane affair as they launched an assault on Arsenal. But clear-cut chances were rarities, the best when Alexis Mac Allister, a few yards out, met Milos Kerkez’s cross but headed over.

The only time Raya was beaten was when Florian Wirtz curled a free kick from an acute angle on to the bar. “We definitely deserved a goal,” said Iraola.

But Liverpool’s 17 shots were all off target and Arsenal weathered the storm. “We knew we have to navigate through periods where we have to suffer,” said Arteta. They have suffered at Anfield since 2012. “Fourteen years, that’s a crazy stat,” said Havertz. But not as crazy, arguably, as limiting Liverpool to no shots on target.