(Football news) A single goal by Everton’s James Tarkowski at the hour mark was enough for Everton to secure a massive three points against in-form league leaders Arsenal at a fired up Goodison Park on Saturday. It was Sean Dyche’s first match in charge and the Toffees put up an impressive display, having many chances to take the lead before Tarkowski’s opener with Dominic Calvert-Lewin coming close to breaking the deadlock in the first half.
The Gunners also offered a threat as Bukayo Saka’s attempt needed a goal line clearance from Conor Coady. Mikel Arteta will be disappointed as Arsenal didn’t test Everton enough in the final stages of the match and failed to capitalise on the opportunity to extend their lead in the Premier League, especially considering that Manchester City lost to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
As for Everton, the Toffees secured their first win in nine league games but the three points weren’t enough to get them out of the relegation zone as they are 18th, one point ahead of 19th place Bournemouth with 18 points. In team news, Sean Dyche made two changes for Everton with Abdoulaye Doucoure and Dwight McNeil featuring in the starting lineup at the expense of Yerry Mina and Demarai Gray.
As for Arsenal, Mikel Arteta featured the same team that defeated Manchester United in the Premier League with Thomas Partey being fit enough to start while new signing Jorginho featured on the bench. Goodison Park has not been a happy hunting ground for Arsenal in recent seasons as Mikel Arteta has lost three away matches against the Toffees in the Premier League, becoming the first Arsenal manager to do so.
Speaking after the match, Everton manager Sean Dyche said “It’s all about the players and they are the focal point for me. They have taken a lot on this week. The minimum requirement is maximum effort and we saw that today. They have been in a position where it has not been nice for anyone. I still believe we can improve with our play. It gives us a platform to move forward. We have crammed a lot this week. To get a win against the top of the league…we managed to calm the game down. I want them to understand the basics of the game.”
Everton’s James Tarkowski said “What an atmosphere. Fair play to the fans, it’s been tough times. It’s been a change of management that we’ve had to buy into straight away. It’s been tough for us and for the fans and for the staff. Hopefully it’s the turning point. We’ve got to get our heads down and crack on. We’ve not lacked technical ability (this season), we’ve just lacked a bit of grit at times. That’s what fans want to see.”
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said “We had loads of the ball but we lacked that purpose and quality in the final third, we generated many chances. But then we conceded and they slowed the game down and we struggled. They do this to every team that is their strength with the height, the physicality is their strength, if you want to control the game against them you have to control this. We did not do that today.
“We needed more composure and to control the game emotionally better. We gave away so many unnecessary free-kicks and that’s what they want. Today I love them much better than the week before or a month ago. It is easy to be next to someone when they are winning well. I am still so proud of all of these players, they deserve it. This is not going to be a rose pathway. This is going to be tricky and we will have to dig in and play much better than we did today.”
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