It was a game to forget for Arsenal as Mikel Arteta’s side suffered a second consecutive 1-0 defeat, however unlike their FA cup exit in Manchester the week before, the positives in the defeat at Goodison were few and far between.
The game was always going to be a tough test for Arsenal despite the difference in the form of the two sides. Everton had hired Sean Dyche a week before and the Toffees players were always going to be eager to impress under their new manager, Dyche’s presence was felt early on as Everton predictably set up in a deep 4-5-1 system, making Arsenal struggle to break them down and pressing with energy which Arsenal really struggled to deal with at times. Arteta’s team actually started well, showing good combination play within the opening minutes, however this died down as Everton grew more and more into the game. This included a ten minute spell midway through the first half where the home side won four corners in quick succession with none ending in a significant chance at Arsenal’s goal, but the dangers were clearly there and Everton had a huge chance to open the scoring with Calvert-Lewin inches away from turning home Onana’s pullback. The Everton striker also missed a header right at the end of a first half which will not have pleased Mikel Arteta.
The Arsenal boss would have hoped for a strong reaction from his team in the second period, but unfortunately that was not the case. As Everton continued to show they wanted it way more than the Gunners and were finally rewarded on the hour as James Tarkowski headed in a Dwight Mcneill corner to send Goodison Park wild and his side into a deserved lead. Arteta tried to respond by calling on Leandro Trossard and deadline day signing Jorginho but the new signings failed to have any form of significant impact as despite a shot hit straight at Pickford from Trossard, the Everton goalkeeper barely had anything to do as Arsenal’s finishing was as poor as their performance as a whole. Everton did well to close the game out in the final stages as Arsenal didn’t look like scoring at all.
Mikel Arteta will be hoping his team can bounce back quickly as the Gunners face an in-form Brentford team at home, before the massive clash at Emirates stadium against Manchester City the following Wednesday as that game looms…
PLAYER RATINGS:
Aaron Ramsdale: 6 – Made some decent saves and claims but could do nothing about the goal
Ben White: 4 – A rare poor performance from Ben White this afternoon, poor in possession throughout and struggled to have an impact going forwards
William Saliba: 6 – A solid game from Saliba, him and Gabriel arguably the standouts of a poor, poor bunch
Gabriel: 7 – By far Arsenal’s best player. Dealt with the physicality of Calvert-Lewin well. A man in fine form of late
Oleksandr Zinchenko: 6 – Not his best afternoon but still looked like one of the few that could unlock the Everton backline. Played a couple of really impressive cross-field passes to Saka
Thomas Partey: 5 – Similar to many of his teammates, a poor performance in possession from Partey. Subbed on the hour mark in the second half although this was probably a precaution
Granit Xhaka: 5 – Like Ben White, a rare poor performance from Xhaka. Sloppy in possession and struggled against the Everton energy
Martin Odegaard: 5 – The captain’s poorest game in a while. Struggled to work his magic and was frustrated all afternoon
Bukayo Saka: 6 – Tried his best but was shut down well by Everton’s left side. Still looked Arsenal’s biggest threat going forward
Eddie Nketiah: 5 – Pretty anonymous all afternoon. Should have done better with a chance in the first half
Gabriel Martinelli: 4 – Recently signed a big new contract however this was one of the Brazilian’s poorest Arsenal performances. Lost the ball time and time again and couldn’t find a way past Coleman. A day to forget for Martinelli
Great post. Think you were a little generous with the player ratings though. Let’s hope they bounce back.