Were Arsenal fortunate or were Everton just tough to break down?

Arsenal have been having a great time in the league of late. Tottenham, Chelsea and Brighton all beaten. However, there was a bit of a stumble in the week as a thoroughly lacklustre performance earned a 1-1 draw away at Bayer Leverkusen. The German side deserved to win, but for a last minute Kai Havertz penalty. The Gunners needed a response and needed a good performance on top of it. Everton arrive in excellent away form and ready to dent Arsenal’s title hopes.

First Half

Everton began the game launching the ball into Arsenal’s territory, but without much resulting from it. The first chance of the game fell to Noni Madueke. Declan Rice took a short corner which allowed Madueke time to drive into the box and unleash a shot at goal. Jordan Pickford was able to palm it away. The Gunners continued with their attacking momentum and had a series of blocked attempts. Riccardo Calafiori and Bukayo Saka couldn’t get the ball beyond the defender. Everton decided they didn’t want to just sit and soak up pressure, so they launched a counter-offensive. Iliman Ndiaye sent a cross deep into the box and found Dwight McNeil, who was unmarked. Despite Calafiori slipping, he swung out his leg and managed to block McNeil’s effort which was guaranteed to go in. Just a couple of minutes later, McNeil received the ball about 40 yards out, surged past Rice and sent a shot curling towards the top corner. The ball slammed against the post and Ndiaye couldn’t react quick enough to deal with the rebound. It should’ve been 1-0 Everton, if not for Calafiori’s acrobatic stop. Arsenal needed a reaction and they almost got it. Saka slipped in Kai Havertz who was clean through on goal in the box, but was tripped by Michael Keane. VAR dismissed penalty appeals and the game carried on. Replay’s show that Keane clearly trod on Havertz’s foot without playing the ball, very lucky to get away with that one. The Toffee’s had another test for David Raya not too long after. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall lined up a fierce strike, but Raya managed to get everything behind it and knocked it away from the danger zone. There was a few nearly moments for Arsenal as the half wore on, but Everton were always able to get something in between the ball and the goal.

Second Half

David Moyes’ side felt like they probably should be ahead after the display in the first half, but they came close again in the opening stages of the second half. Everton swung in a corner which was poorly dealt with by the Arsenal defence. Eventually Beto was able to buy some space and tried to squeeze a shot into the bottom corner. Luckily, Raya noticed was he trying to do and got down to make an excellent save. The North London side wouldn’t get a chance again until the 60th minute. Saka plucked the ball out of the sky and very quickly shifted his body into a shooting position. Pickford managed to prevent the ball going in with a smart save. Eberechi Eze was able to maintain Arsenal’s pressure with another good chance. He received the ball on the edge of the box and wrapped his foot around a shot that had beaten Pickford, but also just beat the post. Inches away from the opener. The away side weren’t finished with their chances and were certainly seeking to grab three points. James Garner whipped in a wicked free kick that was screaming out for a strong header. Cristian Mosquera inadvertently altered the flight path of the ball and changed it so it just missed the far post. Much closer than he would’ve liked. Eze, who’s been hitting them from distance all game, crashed another effort against Pickford’s gloves, as Arsenal tried to swing the momentum back in their favour. After the introduction of Max Dowman, the 16 year old was gifted an effort inside the box. However, he couldn’t keep his effort down and it sailed well over the bar. As the game dragged closer to the 90th minute, Arsenal were seemingly going to have to settle for a draw. That was until an excellent cross from Dowman evaded Pickford and slammed against the body of Piero Hincapie. The ball trickled across the goal mouth where Viktor Gyokeres was waiting. He thundered home the opener. 1-0 Arsenal. Everton searched for an equaliser and it brought them a corner in the final seconds of added time. However, Mikel Arteta’s men were able to clear their lines and Dowman picked up the pieces. The young star nodded the ball past one challenge and then sidestepped another. Pickford had gone up for the corner, so all that was left for Max to do was to carry the ball from the half way line to the penalty spot and simply roll the ball into an open net. 2-0 Arsenal and a dream scenario for young Max Dowman, remember the name.

Statistics

While Everton can feel hard done by that they didn’t manage to score, Arsenal certainly deserved the win, in the end. The Gunners had 25 shots with 7 of those on target. This created 2.70 xG with 2 big chances created. Everton managed 9 shots with 3 on target. This created 1.05 xG with 2 big chances created.

Player Ratings

Starting XI

Raya – 7 – He made one very important stop, which can’t be ignored. However, he did flap at a couple of crosses which then resulted in key chances for Everton.

Timber – N/A – I’m not going to give him a rating because he received an injury inside 25 minutes and wasn’t the same after it. Fingers crossed it’s nothing major.

Saliba – 7 – Strong at the back and reasonably assured in possession. Couple of loose passes here and there, but nothing too bad.

Gabriel – 7 – Made a ton of clearances and helped the Gunners get that clean sheet over the line.

Calafiori – 8 – Made a block as good as a goal. He does just elevate the attack in ways we don’t appreciate until he’s out there. It’s no surprise that when he’s back starting we have 25 shots.

Zubimendi – 6 – One of his better performances of late, but you can tell he’s tired. His legs don’t seem to move at the speed he wants them to. But, he was braver in possession and some of that anticipation had returned. Needs a break, but positive signs moving forward.

Rice – 8 – It’s no surprise that when he shifted into the lone ‘6’ role we started to create more. He’s a one-man midfield machine and constantly broke up play to aid Arsenal’s defensive efforts. The only blotch on his record is allowing McNeil to step around him as easy as he did.

Eze – 7 – He had as many shots in this game as the entire Arsenal team produced against Brighton, in fact he had more shots than the entire team had against Leverkusen. It shows intent and I want more of it. Most of them were wayward, but one forced a good save and the other landed a couple of inches to the right of the post.

Saka – 6 – I think he improved when he drifted inside after Dowman’s introduction. I think he takes up positions that help the team more than anyone else that plays that role. However, on the right, it felt like he lacked something again. He did produce an excellent pass for Havertz that should have resulted in a penalty.

Havertz – 6 – He was 100% denied a stonewall penalty which would’ve changed the entire landscape of the game. The way he timed his run and his touch to create distance from the defender was proper centre forward play. He was just taken down before he could pull the trigger. Outside of that he was quiet, but Arsenal did struggle in the first half anyway.

Madueke – 7 – I get the left wing experiment, but he looks uncomfortable running at defenders in that position. When he switched to the right wing, he immediately took the ball through a crowd of people and created a chance. Having said that, he always seems to be our most dangerous attacker when he’s on the pitch. Created a good chance for himself early on.

Substitutes

Mosquera – 6 – He played pretty well overall, but Ndiaye certainly gave him problems. There was a couple of moments that Ndiaye was on the verge of breaking away, but Mosquera fouled him before it was too late.

Martinelli – 7 – I think he made a positive impact when he came on. I like that he’s constantly demanding the ball and wanting to do something with it, even if it doesn’t always come off. Forced Pickford into an excellent save right before Gyokeres’ goal. Provided the assist for Dowman’s goal, but really he was just trying to head the ball clear.

Hincapie – 8 – Right place, right time to provide the assist and that was such a huge moment. He loves defending and proved that with a big tackle at the end which got the fans out their seats and celebrating him.

Gyokeres – 8 – Right place, right time. But, that’s a striker’s instinct and that’s what we paid the money for. He doesn’t always look good or aesthetically pleasing, but if he can help turn the tide in these difficult battles then I don’t care how he performs against the big teams.

Dowman – 10 (MOTM) – You can’t not be smiling ear to ear after that. 16 YEARS OLD!! If Gyokeres won the game with his goal then you’d be very happy, but the ending has genuinely injected energy and belief into the team that can’t be described. At the end of the season, we’ll look back on moments that define our season and this will be one of them. Played a part in both goals and I’m giving him a perfect 10 for that alone.

Summary

Given the context of how the Manchester City game panned out, this win was massive. I genuinely think if we didn’t win against Everton, City would’ve beat West Ham. It’s the kind of psychological blow that can genuinely affect another team. I think it gives the team the belief to beat Leverkusen and then go on and beat City in the EFL Cup final next Sunday. I think we understand now that the performance won’t always be pretty, but this side can grind out wins and won’t stop until the final whistle blows. This game also showed that Arteta isn’t afraid to make brave decisions and isn’t the conservative manager that we think he is. He told Dowman, Martinelli and Gyokeres to go out there and express themselves. They done exactly that. It is Leverkusen up next and a win is imperative here, we have an excellent chance to reach a Champions League final for the first time since 2006.

Arsenal vs Leverkusen Predicted Lineup

Part of me wants to go for a full on attack in the first half and try and surprise them. We were very conservative in Germany and they may expect that again. However, Arteta will always throw caution to the wind. But, the team above is based on merit, injuries and what would give us the best chance to win the tie without much complication. Jurrien Timber is likely to be injured, so I’d like Ben White to step up, even if he can only manage 60 minutes or so. Madueke deserves to start and from the right this time. Saka is playing better behind the striker, so that’ll push Eze out wide left. That’s if Leandro Trossard is still injured. I’d like Myles Lewis-Skelly to get a run out here. He’s good enough, he just needs the trust. As does Christian Norgaard. Martin Zubimendi looks spent and we’ve got a huge cup final in less than a week. The Spaniard cannot start both, especially when he already looks beaten. The team above still gives us options from the bench; Gabriel Jesus, Gyokeres, Gabriel Martinelli, Riccardo Calafiori, Max Dowman and Piero Hincapie will all still be available to have an impact from the bench. Let’s get it!