- Arsenal ended their six-year Premier League winless record against Everton on a thrilling Sunday at Goodison Park
- Leandro Trossard scored the lone goal that separated the teams in the second half of the game.
Arsenal ended their six-year Premier League winless record against Everton on a thrilling Sunday at Goodison Park. Leandro Trossard scored the lone goal that separated the teams in the second half of the game.
Gabriel Martinelli of Arsenal attempted to score early on, but the goal was disallowed owing to an offside ruling that was confirmed by the video assistant referee (VAR). Everton, who have yet to win this season, put up a tenacious defense and successfully stopped him.
However, in the 69th minute, Trossard expertly moved the ball into the net by deflecting it off the post. This was the result of Arsenal’s relentless attempts. Arsenal’s domination throughout the game was rewarded with this pivotal play, which also signaled a change in direction for their performance at Goodison Park.
David Raya got his Arsenal debut. Photo/GOAL
In addition to giving David Raya his professional debut in goal, Arteta replaced the ineffectual Kai Havertz with Fabio Vieira. After a short corner routine, the Portuguese got the Gunners’ first attempt of the day within 10 minutes, but he blasted far over.
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However, Everton stayed buried in their own half, and in the 19th minute, Martinelli appeared to get an assist from Vieira, who passed the ball to the Brazilian and allowed him to score into the far corner.
The opportunity was created by a pass from Gabriel Magalhaes that Beto diverted and sent to Eddie Nketiah’s foot, but the Englishman was offside at the time the ball left Gabriel’s boot, and the goal was ruled out after a VAR review.
That would turn out to be Martinelli’s final play; he left the field shortly afterward due to an injury, and Trossard took his place. Meanwhile, an up-to-then-sloppy Everton was gradually gaining confidence as the half went on.
Martinelli thought he had scored but VAR overruled the goal. Photo/Telegraph
Raya was put to the test for the first time, but Idrissa Gueye’s meek long-range effort was an easy catch for the Spaniard. In the 40th minute, a Ben White shot from a similar range went straight to Jordan Pickford’s hands.
In the first half, Arteta’s team was hesitant to take many chances, but as soon as the second half began, they sought the forward ball, and Martin Odegaard shot at Pickford’s a minute later.
The Toffees still showed glimpses of life in the final third, though, as an Arnaut Danjuma half-volley almost missed Raya’s crossbar in the 67th minute. Everton’s defense remained as firm as ever.
With 70 minutes gone, though, Arsenal’s pressure would eventually pay off when, just seconds after failing with a short corner, a similar sequence resulted in Bukayo Saka cutting back for Trossard to unleash a magnificent sidefooted effort across goal and in off the post.
The Gunners had limited opportunities to increase their advantage, but they comfortably held Everton at bay to move up to fourth place in the rankings, leaving the Toffees with only one point and in the relegation zone.
The Gunners are getting ready to host PSV Eindhoven in their Champions League opener on Wednesday, while Everton will host Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium the following Saturday.
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