(Football news) Arsenal defeated Everton 4-0 to go 5 points clear on top of the Premier League table. Jorginho kept his place in the playing XI despite the return of Thomas Partey. Eddie Nketiah once again started on the bench as Mikel Arteta preferred Leandro Trossard up front. The rest of the line-up was made up of the regulars as Mikel Arteta decided to go with a strong XI. Sean Dyche decided to play Micheal Keane ahead of Conor Coady. Neal Maupay started as a lone man up front while Demarai Gray was on the bench.

The start of the game was a little cagey as Arsenal failed to create clear cut chances against the stubborn Everton defense. The deadlock was broken in the 40th minute as Oleksandr Zinchenko assisted Bukayo Saka. The goal was Saka’s 10th in the Premier League and 11th in all competitions this season. 6 minutes later Saka robbed the ball off Amadou Onana and Gabriel Martinelli pounced on it to double Arsenal’s lead. Thomas Partey came on at half time to replace Jorginho. Captain Martin Odegaard scored Arsenal’s 3rd goal after being set up bh Leandro Trossard. Gabriel Martinelli scored his 2nd goal in the 80th minute to seal a 4-0 victory.

After a little slump, in-form Martinelli has regained his form and the Brazilian now has 11 goals in the Premier League this season. Arsenal are marching towards the title but now they will enter the most difficult part of the season as the Europa League knockouts are also on the horizon. It will be interesting to see if Arteta rests his regular players in the Europa League tie against Sporting CP to try and prioritize the Premier League. Their next match is against 19th placed Bournemouth at the Emirates Stadium.

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