Everton 0-1 Arsenal: Gyokeres penalty sends Gunners back on top

Match report – Player ratings – Arteta reaction – Video

After Man City had comfortably won earlier in the day to leapfrog us in the table, Arsenal went back on top of the Premier League thanks to a 1-0 win over Everton last night.

The team was as expected, Riccardo Calafiori returning at left back, and Leandro Trossard starting again on the left. The first half was scrappy, with Everton probably a little more dangerous looking in the opening 15 minutes without ever really threatening. We had a sight of goal when Martin Zubimendi fired over with his left foot, but until Jake O’Brien’s moment of madness, Jordan Pickford didn’t have a save to make.

Viktor Gyokeres wanted a penalty for what he felt was a push from O’Brien as he went for a deflected Jurrien Timber cross, but I don’t think it was. From the resulting corner though, the Irishman inexplicably went full Top Gun volleyball, with both hands above his head, and after a VAR check the penalty was awarded. The question was, who would take it? Saka is the regular taker, Martin Odegaard often steps up too, but in need of a confidence boosting goal, the ball was handed to Gyokeres, and you can understand why.

It was a big moment for the Swedish international, and he made absolutely no mistake, thumping the ball with real power into the back of the net. Pickford went the right way but the height and speed of the ball gave him no chance. 1-0 to Arsenal, and just what the doctor ordered from Gyokeres. He had another sight of goal after a good pass from William Saliba but saw his shot blocked, and late on there was a moment when Odegaard’s pass should have been more precise, but I don’t think the striker’s run was great either.

Nevertheless, 1-0 away from home at the break is not a bad place to be. Not long into the second period there was a shout for an Everton penalty when Saliba kicked Thierno Barry after the Everton man had played the ball. It’s one of those where you can make a good argument as to why it shouldn’t be a spot kick, but you’ve seen them given plenty of times, so I was quite worried. VAR checked and cleared, and I think we got away with one a bit there. Maybe the striker’s histrionics at what was a tame kick made it less convincing to the video official.

There were chances for Arsenal to score the second. Saka’s first time shot with his right foot was blocked, and I think he had time to take a touch in the box and find the finish, before a lovely move saw Trossard’s shot come back off the post. Close, but a player of his calibre has got to score from there. Mikel Arteta made a change, putting on Gabriel Jesus for Gyokeres who struggled to get involved in general play. He completed just 3 of his 5 attempted passes, and while you don’t necessarily need your centre-forward to be spraying it around like a playmaker, it does suggest to me that he’s struggling to combine with others and others with him. I also worry about his inability to win duels and 50-50s, an aspect of his performance yesterday that did give me pause, because those are moments when a low-touch forward can really impose himself on a game.

Zubimendi then hit the post, before the game took on, what felt like to me at least, a similar pattern to Wolves. We sat back, let Everton have the ball, and I did not care for it at all. However, where it differed was we quickly swung the pendulum back our way, and while we didn’t really make any big chances, we took the sting out of the game completely by just keeping ball with almost 70% possession in the last 15 minutes or so, and lots of that was in their half.

That was certainly better than last week, but we were still on something of a knife-edge. I’ve seen it said that Everton didn’t threaten, didn’t have a shot on target, and mustered just 0.2xG, which is fine, but Wolves didn’t have a shot on target until they scored a 93rd minute equaliser. Sometimes you have to scrap out a win, but when you exist on the fine margins, and you’ve seen your side concede late at Sunderland and Villa Park, and get away with conceding late just seven days before, I don’t think it’s unreasonable as a fan not to feel particularly comfortable.

Speaking afterwards, Mikel Arteta referenced the need to be more clinical, saying:

We hit the post twice. With players that are normally in those positions, they’re going to put the ball in the net. In the second half, we had two or three big open chances which, if you want to be more relaxed at the end, you should score in the Premier League.

One for Leo, one for Zubimendi. Also Bukayo is totally free inside the box, he’s got time and he decides to shoot and the ball gets cleared just on the line. So, those moments, you have to be more clinical to have bigger margins.

Still, after three away games without a win, the most important thing was taking all the points back to North London, which is exactly what we did. I think it’s fair to say it should have been more convincing, but that’s an issue we’ll have to sort out with tricky games against Brighton and Villa to come before the end of 2025. There might even be some important players returning to give the squad a boost for those games, and in the meantime there’s an EFL Cup game against Crystal Palace where I think I need to see the manager give playing time to some of the lads who need it. And those players, because we haven’t been fully convincing in attack, can perhaps make a real case for themselves for further inclusion.

I think we’ll need to be better than yesterday to win our next two Premier League games, but in the cold light of day, you can’t argue against a 1-0 away from home to put you back on top of the table. That’s the best possible place from which to work out the kinks, so to speak.

Right, I’ll leave it there for now. We’ll have an Arsecast Extra for you tomorrow as usual, and in the meantime, have a great Sunday folks.