Morning all.
There are many reasons Everton appointed Sean Dyche I’m sure, but I strongly suspect his main task was/is, to avoid relegation. Dyche isn’t really renowned for his entertaining, attacking and dynamic footballing tactics but what he does well is to organise a defensive set up. I’m sure everyone interested in last nights fixture knew exactly what to expect from his team. They were going to be tough to break down.
Mikel Arteta stuck with the same starting eleven as the one which defeated Leicester City at the weekend. The message no doubt was simple, win!
Arsenal struggled to find any kind of rhythm in the first half with only Gabriel Martinelli having half a sniff at Pickford’s goal but just as it seemed we’d go into the break at 0-0, the home team came alive. Bukayo Saka rifled one high into the net and then Martinelli doubled our lead after taking advantage of some shoddy defending by Everton and some good work by Saka. A slight delay followed as the linesman had raised his flag but VAR confirmed the goal was good.
Into the second half and it was Leandro Trossard who had the first real chance to extend Arsenal’s lead but he got his volley all wrong. Then came a big moment in our own half as Dwight McNeil had a shot on target but Aaron Ramsdale dealt with it. Half way through the second half, Michael Oliver finally realised he had something in his pocket – a yellow card. The ghastly Ben Godfrey was the first to be booked having stamped on Trossard’s leg. Thankfully, our ‘Mr I can play anywhere’ got up and carried on. In fact it was he who set up Martin Odegaard for Arsenal’s third before Martinelli made it 4-0 before the end.
Mikel Arteta happy?
I’m really happy. It was a game that we had in hand against an opponent that we knew was going to make life really difficult for us and we expected that at Goodison. We started the game with some frustration and not really understanding what we had to do, allowing them to run in certain transitions, but after 25 minutes I think we start to get much better and the timing of the two goals was key. We needed a magic moment there and Alex and Bukayo produced that, and then I think the team grew, especially with Thomas because Jorginho wasn’t feeling good today. When he came on he really gave us some presence and stability to the team and I think the second half was superb.
Everton have truly morphed into Burnley. No surprise really when a few of the players were once playing for the latter when Dyche was their manager. His tricks tactics didn’t pay off and in all honesty, he’d have had no grounds for complaint had his team been beaten by a much higher scoreline.
Arsenal had to be patient, but once the first goal went in, the result was never really in doubt. Mikel Arteta’s team were simply too good.
Thomas Partey played the entire second half which is great news, whilst Kieran Tierney, Emile Smith Rowe, Eddie Nketiah and Fabio Vieira all got minutes on the pitch too. In case you missed it, Gabriel Jesus is back in training too. Not full training as far as I can make out but he’s on the grass..
Next up, Bournemouth…
Perhaps I missed typed it but what I meant was that if we take the 3 against Bournemouth we are still 5 points clear unless City slip up against Newcastle in which case the gap gets bigger.
Looking at remaining fixtures affecting top four places everyone has difficult games to come just next week Liverpool at home to Man utd , City at home to Newcastle and we have Bournemouth . Psychologically we could stretch things a we bit further by Monday.
Good morning Rico.
I think Everton will do well in The Championship next season, Dyche is best suited to a team willing to kick and grab their through a match with a modicum of simulation added. Although if, as is looking very likely, they do get relegated he’ll almost certainly get the boot.
Michael Oliver was a little over-tolerant towards the repetitive fouling which appeared to be Everton’s only tactic, one attempted tackle in the second half would have resulted in a broken leg had the Arsenal player targeted not jumped over it.
I was surprised when Jorginho was subbed at half-time, but apparently he was feeling unwell. Thomas Partey took his place and played a blinder.
One of the strengths of Arteta’s squad is the number of goal scorers, it makes it harder for opponent’s defenders as they don’t have a main striker, such as Haarland, to concentrate on.
Newcastle seem to have hit a bit of a dip. That and the news about their owners this morning could upset them even more. If they take a point home from Manchester first though, it’d be good for us.
Morning Cicero, sadly, I think Everton will stay up.
Is it just me or does anyone else think something isn’t right at Totts? Conte hasn’t been seen since having gallbladder surgery many weeks ago yet having undergone the same surgery myself, I was fine two days later. 😅
Conte, like all spuds, are often best left in the dark😉
What’s the news about the bar codes?🧐
Afternoon Rico and all, due to possible future injuries I would prefer to play teams in the middle of ladder, considering how close the bottom of the ladder teams are, they will do what ever it takes to get out of the relegation battle,
Afternoon Rico and All,
Yeah , What is the news about Newcastle ?
I’m raging at the moment after listening to some Pratt on Talk Sport saying how lucky we have been….Christ !!!
Anyway, I almost felt sorry for Iwobi after Odegaard’s slide tackle last night. I wonder if Jorginho was really ill or just an off night.
Sorry guys, had to nip out..
Here’s the Newcastle story..
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-11811309/Newcastles-305m-Saudi-takeover-facing-fresh-scrutiny.html
Hi Geoff, Mike.
That’s Durham I take it Mike? Laura Woods soon slapped him down.
Yes Rico ….. Laura Woods is great.
Are they REALLY surprised about the Newcastle owners. What a farce, more backhanders I bet.
If they were surprised Mike, they were/are probably the only ones..
Something not right at Tottenham , the story of my life
Ha ha.
Good morning all.
A Spanish news source suggests that Arsenal are willing to sell Emil Smith-Rowe in the summer.
Morning Rico and all.
Cicero I am not surprised at that, I said the same thing a while back, don’t get me wrong I like ESR but that fact that Arteta keeps playing him off the bench shows me that he doesn’t have full confidents in him.
I can’t see Arsenal selling ESR, if his fitness/injury problems can be resolved, he’s the natural replacement for Xhaka imo.
Geoff, he’s been out injured, coming off the bench is the best and right option.
New post up now