After a tough trip to Stamford Bridge last week, Everton returned home to the Hill Dickinson Stadium but the task ahead was even more challenging. Arsenal had been knocked off the top earlier in the day
when Manchester City beat West Ham, so Arsenal had it all to play for to regain the top spot and be top of the tree for Christmas.
Everton had drawn both matches last season so David Moyes was looking to get something from the game. The injury to Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall last week who had been in great form was a big loss for the Blues. Who would step up to fill that large gap?
Team News
Everton were fortunate to have Jack Grealish and Merlin Rohl in the lineup as they continued without Gueye and Ndiaye who were at AFCON. Dwight McNeil got the start on the right side with James Garner lined up next to Tim Iroegbunam.
Arsenal had no players away at the AFCON tournament. However, Arteta made three changesas Martin Odegaard started ahead of Eberechi Eze, Ricardo Calafiori returned from injury to replace Ben White and Leandro Trossard was chosen over Gabriel Martinelli.
Match Report
The arrival of the teams with the incredible flag display by the 1878’s was brilliant. The work of the 1878’s to build excitement was critical at Goodison and the move to the new stadium gives an opportunity to bring some of that Goodison magic in our new home. The tifo, which comes from the Italian for supporters, tifosi. Long may it continue.
Everton quickly were on the ball as the noise from the crowd was deafening. An early loose pass from Alcaraz put Keane under pressure and a good tackle, making clean contact on the ball saved the big centre back from a red card as the last man back.
Everton got the first corner of the match which was delivered by Garner. Tarkowski forced a throw in which was met by Barry but his shot was blocked by Timber. McNeil delivered the resulting corner but it was atrocious. Moyes was not happy.
Everton had controlled the first fifteen minutes. Saka’s first foray forward was well defended by Mykolenko. Arsenal were getting on the ball and a ball from Saka was met by Zubimendi but his shot went well over. Arsemal were pressuring the Everton goal and when Timber crossed the ball, Gyokeres fell to the ground which was embarassing.
The resulting corner was delivered and when Calafiori and O’Brien went up, the Everton defender had his hands raised and the ball struck the defenders hand. It took VAR to give the penalty. Tarkowski and Pickford argued the case but it did nothing. Gyokeres took the ball and powered the ball past Pickford. Everton had denied Arsenal a shot on goal in the first 25 minutes but the penalty changed that fact. A gift of a lead.
In the melee before the penalty, Mykolenko was given a yellow card for scuffing up the penalty spot. Everton tried to respond quickly and an all action tackle from Iroegbunam got the Evertonians on their feet. A yellow card to Tarkowski for a stomp on Gyokeres. Everton were dropping deeper as the final five minutes arrived.
A lovely ball into Gyokeres needed a fine tackle from Tarkowski to prevent a second goal. Four minutes of additional time was announced as Calafiori went down and needed treatment for a potential concussion. Everton pushed for an equalizer but they could not make the final pass. When Alcaraz laid off a ball for Barry, the striker could not outmuscle Saliba. It was the last action of the half as Sam Barrott blew his whistle.
No changes for either team as Everton kicked off the second half. A long throw from O’Brien hit a hand but VAR said it was incidental. Everton were pushing which lifted the Evertonians. Arsenal were happy to slow the game down. A quick counter attack by Gyokeres needed a mixup with Saka allowed Pickford to pick up the ball. Seconds later, Saka had a great chance and it was Tarkowski who cleared the ball away.
An intercepted pass by Alcaraz saw Barry drive to the box and he went down under a challenge. The referee waved it away and VAR agreed. McNeil then drove forward but his pass to Garner but it was poor. The crowd was getting louder. After a foul on Grealish, Gyokeres was given a yellow for kicking the ball away. A lobbed ball into the box saw Saliba kick Barry which was ignored by the referee. As Barry was being treated, VAR looked at the incident and somehow there was no penalty.
Arsenal were pushing for a second and when Rice passed the ball to a wide open Trossard, the Belgian winger hit the post and saved Everton’s blushes. Beto replaced Barry and Gyokeres was replaced by Jesus. Zubimedi then hit the outside of the post to keep the lead at one.
That pressure continued and another mix up, this time between Timber and Saka denied the Gunners again. Both Merlin Rohl and Tyler Dibling were stripping off to enter the game as Keane made a great defensive play on Saka. McNeil and Alcaraz were withdrawn as the midfield was refreshed.
Beto was doing his level best to bother and harry the Arsenal back line. Trossard was then withdrawn for Martinelli. The game was becoming more of a scramble as the Toffees pushed for an equalizer. Rohl was trying to drive the Blues forward but Arsenal were repelling their efforts.
The clock was becoming Everton’s nemesis as Arsenal held onto the ball. A loose ball by Rohl saw Merino put the ball into the box which was kicked by Tarkowski who had his shot go just wide of his own net. The resulting corner led to a mad scramble as six minutes of added time was announced.
Arsenal held onto the ball and wasted time until Everton had a late free kick. That was poor and the referee blew his whistle to end the match. A disappointing loss which could have been different had calls gone our way. As the players left the pitch, he was giving the referee a right rollicking.
Everton’s Man of the Match
Vitalii Mykolenko: Everton were up against it again today but one thing was always going to be true and that was the job that Mykolenko was going to do on the dangerous Bukayo Saka. For the third match in a row, the Ukrainian kept Saka in check, denying any space or opportunity to cross the ball. In fact, Saka only got 1 of his 5 crosses into the box. Right up to the last minute when he outran Merino to prevent an Arsenal breakaway. Tarkowski was very good but the work by Mykolenko was outstanding.
Instant Reaction
Arsenal controlled the play in the first half but the Blues decided to put some pressure on them in the second half. It was a spirited effort but we could not break down the Gunners who have the best defensive record in the league. This was a game of penalties given and penalties denied. Sadly, Everton did not get the penalty and did not have enough going forward to change the outcome. Let us show what we can do going forward when we play Burnley next week.
How there was no penalty given when Barry was kicked by Saliba is absolutely pathetic. There was clear contact which injured Barry and it was well inside the box. The ball did go up in the air after Barry kicked it but that does not change the fact that there was a foul in the box. In a week, the Premier League will release a statement that an error was made but that won’t change the impact the non call had on the match.
The gap in the squad that has been created by the loss of Kiernan Dewsbury Hall was always going to be a big one to fill. Today, a match against Arsenal was never going to be easy. The discussion this week about the return of Harrison Armstrong could be a solution to the loss of KDH, Gueye and Ndiaye. Armstrong can play the holding midfielder as well as the attacking midfielder. The comments from Moyes and Kinnear suggests that the return is a possibility but his return could limit his playing time when the midfield trio return. However, if I was the CEO I would be leaving him at Preston to continue his development.
Dwight McNeil got the nod ahead of Tyler Dibling on the right and the display from McNeil in the first half was absolutely awful. He had zero tackles, blocks, interceptions, ground duels won, and aerial duels won and going forward he had zero accurate crosses. In the second half, his passing did not improve. David Moyes eventually brought on our biggest signing last summer but there really was not enough time, or opportunity for the young lad to impact the match. McNeil was Everton’s weakest player, Moyes has got to give Dibling a chance when we head to Turf Moor in six days.
