Gunners Fail to Meltdown Toffees

This week’s midweek fixture offered several good games, but this battle for 5^th place between Everton and Arsenal topped the list. It was a must win for an Arsenal team that needs to retain their Champions League presence. On-the-other -hand, the Toffees were looking to add to their 1-point lead on the Gunners. Today’s match was played at Goodison Park, where Everton haven’t lost a game since March, to Arsenal. 

As an Arsenal fan I know how frustrating conceding an early goal is, and it happens to us quite a bit. The game started off quickly with Theo Walcott scoring within the first minute of play via Ramsey’s pass. It was a nice turn of events to go up in the early minutes of the game. Theo has really been having a great season, and Arsenal [Wenger] need to do what they can to keep him. He is really showing he’s worth the money and has what it takes to score goals in his much-desired role up front.

After the goal Everton came out eager to retaliate. Jelovic and Fellaini both had chances but Szczesny came up with some brilliant saves. The 20 minutes after the goal were intense spurts of play with Everton trying to attack and Arsenal defending and trying to get their rhythm going again. The aerial battle was crucial in this game with big targets for both sides: Fellaini, Jelovic, and Giroud. Luckily, Per Mertesacker standing tall at 6’6”, just shy of 2 meters, proved to be effective in keeping the aerial threat to a minimum. The German defender has proved to be a solid center back option.

As the play went on, aggressive tackles and reckless fouls from Everton showed their determination in getting back into the game. In the 28^th minute the ball hit the back of the net with Maroune Fellaini curling a left-footed shot past the Polish goalkeeper to tie the game at 1-1. Everton proved to be dangerous on the counter attack with their sights only on goal, which paid off this time. The midfield battle was back-and-forth. Jack Wilshere showed positive signs with great passes, dribbles, and dropping back to really help the defense out this game. Throughout the match, Everton produced the better chances, but Arsenal created quite a few of their own that they couldn’t capitalize on. The rest of the game was back-and-forth attack with each manager going for the win. It looked like Arsenal were going to sneak away with the 3 points with failed attempts in the 60^th minute by Giroud off a perfectly weighed Gibbs cross and Giroud’s slightly too high cross to Gervinho in the dying minutes of the game. The fact that Arsenal haven’t conceded a goal in the last 15 minutes of a premier league game this season was definitely in their favor. In the end, the 1-1 result stood and the Toffees retain the 1-point lead in 5^th just ahead of Arsenal who are in 6^th. 

Overall, it was an entertaining match. It is fun to watch Everton play. They played brilliant football with one-two passing; the sort of passes we are used to Arsenal producing. The Gunners lacked the cohesion needed to string a few passes through to clear up space for a striker to slot home a goal. Arteta had a poor game I thought, especially against his former club. The 4-5-1 formation with Giroud acting as lone striker wasn’t effective. He is not the kind of striker that can run at defenders with pace and go through on goal; he needs support close to him to flick balls on. Wenger should consider pairing Theo up with Giroud up top and have Gervinho and the Ox on the flanks. January transfer window is getting closer and closer every week, what moves with Wenger and the Gunners make to stay in the race for the Top 4.

BY: Suhail Tsay