Goodison Park has been a very unhappy place for Arsenal in recent years. With the Gunners not having tasted victory at the home of Everton since a 2-5 win under Arsene Wenger in 2017. In fact, ahead of this season’s trip to the blue side of Stanley Park, Arsenal had lost in four of their last five visits, their last being a 1-0 defeat in Sean Dyche’s first game in charge of the Toffees.
Mikel Arteta opted to make two changes to his starting XI ahead of the start of the UEFA Champions League. Fabio Vieira came into the midfield to replace Kai Havertz, and rather surprisingly, David Raya was chosen between the sticks for Arsenal ahead of usual no.1 Aaron Ramsdale. The Spanish keeper taking to the field in an Arsenal jersey for the first time.
The start of the game for Arsenal was one of extreme control. With the Gunners having 79% of the ball in the first fifteen minutes. Just under the twenty minute mark, Eddie Nketiah latched onto a loose ball and a brilliant pass from Vieira let his good friend Gabriel Martinelli clear on goal who finished superbly. However, the goal was ruled out due to Nketiah being marginally offside despite the ball coming off Everton striker Beto. Arsenal continued to control the game with over two thirds of the ball however struggled to create proper clear cut chances against a resilient Everton.
The second half started with slightly more intensity from Arsenal, with Martin Odegaard forcing a strong close ranger save from Jordan Pickford. However Arsenal still couldn’t find a way through. That was until the 70th minute when Leandro Trossard, who had come on after Gabriel Martinelli was forced off in the first half, finally gave Arsenal the lead with with twenty minutes remaining.
The goal and finish itself was brilliant. With a corner from Arsenal being taken short by Saka, and some nice link up play from multiple Arsenal players ended with the ball being cut back to Trossard, who side-footed the ball on the half-volley first time with his left foot. The strike was excellent and found the back of the net after hitting the inside of the post leaving Pickford standstill. Arsenal finally had the lead their dominance of the ball deserved.
The final twenty minutes saw one more big chance for Arsenal, as Martin Odegaard found himself through on goal, however his effort was saved by Pickford. Mikel Arteta’s team managed the final minutes superbly and Everton couldn’t find a late chance for an equaliser and Arsenal made it a second consecutive 0-1 win away from home and four wins from their first five Premier League games.
A big week awaits The Gunners as UEFA Champions League football finally returns to N5 as PSV Eindhoven visit North London.
Player Ratings:
David Raya: 8 – Superb debut, didn’t have a lot to do regarding saves but his claiming of crosses and distribution with his feet was brilliant. Deserved clean sheet.
Ben White: 7 – Solid and great on the ball
William Saliba: 7 – Dealt with the physical forwards of Everton really well
Gabriel: 7 – Same as Saliba
Oleksandr Zinchenko: 8 – Fantastic on the ball throughout
Declan Rice: 8 – Almost single handidly dealt with a really physical Everton midfield. Had multiple brilliant ball recoveres
Fabio Vieria: 7 – Did well on and off the ball and almost got an exellent assist
Martin Odegaard: 7 – Had a poor first half but stepped it up in the second
Bukayo Saka: 7 – Assisted the winner and was always involved
Eddie Nketiah: 6 – Worked hard but barely got in the game
Gabriel Martinelli: N/A – Was looking like a real threat before unfortunately being forced off injured
Leandro Trossard: 7 – Like Odegaard, had a poor first half but improved massively in the second and scored the crucial winner