Result: Arsenal 2 – 0 Everton
Competition: Premier League
Date: 23 September 2018
Venue: The Emirates Stadium
Arsenal secured their first clean sheet of the season and chalked up another win with a 2-0 result against Everton. Arsenal struggled to impose their game in the first half but got 2 quick goals in the second half against the run of play. Overall, the performance was not great but Emery would be happy with the points on board in Arsenal’s chase for a place in the top 4, especially with Chelsea and Manchester United dropping points this weekend.
ARSENAL STARTING XI
The Arsenal team: Cech, Bellerin, Sokratis, Mustafi, Monreal, Xhaka, Torreira, Ramsey, Ozil, Aubameyang, Lacazette
Subs: Leno, Lichtsteiner, Holding, Guendouzi, Elneny, Iwobi, Welbeck
0′ – TORREIRA STARTS
Torreira starts for Arsenal in the Premier League. Rejoice, for Emery has listened to the voice of the fans! It’s as if we’ve finally had a manager who is active on Twitter. Oh wait….
1′ – SOKRATIS CLEARANCE
Big Papa gets into a 1 on 1 with Walcott and wrestles the ball away from the ex-Gunner. He boots his clearance far from danger to great applause. More of this, please.
1′ – RICHARLISON CHANCE
Richarlison breaks the offside trap and streaks towards goal. A moment of hesitation by the forward allows Cech to sweep up and clear.
4′ – PRESSING IN PROGRESS
Aubameyang and Lacazette expertly press Kenny into giving away a corner. Looks like something they practiced in training. Positive signs.
7′ – XHAKA LOSES POSSESSION
Xhaka receives the ball deep in the half and gets closed down by Gueye. Everton almost score only for their players to be caught offside.
11′ – MONREAL CHANCE
A great through ball from Ozil releases Bellerin on the right. Bellerin’s cross results in a scramble in the penalty area. The ball ends up at the feet of the opposite full back, Monreal, who ghosted his way into the box. His shot gets blocked and is cleared away.
14′ – YELLOW CARD: TORREIRA
Torreira goes in for a hard tackle against Gueye but doesn’t get the ball. An early yellow for the tenacious midfielder.
20′ – CECH SAVES
Richarlison evades Bellerin and takes an open shot on goal. Cech saves well and pushes the ball out for a corner.
26′ – YELLOW CARD: DIGNE
Yellow card for the Frenchman who tries to trip Aubameyang on a counter.
27′ – RICHARLISON CHANCE
The forward spins past a couple of Arsenal players on the inside left and attempts to curl the ball into the bottom of the far post. It goes just wide.
29′ – YELLOW CARD: SOKRATIS
Mustafi is not able to keep the ball away from Walcott with his tackle. Walcott drives on dangerously into space and Sokratis hastily takes down the speedy winger to earn a yellow.
30′ – CECH SAVES FREE KICK
Digne takes the resulting free kick which is saved by Cech. The wall should have done better to jump and block the attempt.
31′ – RAMSEY GOES CLOSE
Ozil makes a rare driving run into the box and squares it for Ramsey who was free in the penalty box. The Everton players deflect the pass before it reaches Ramsey. Arsenal need to create another good chance as they’ve been quiet so far in this game.
37′ – THEO CHANCE
Sigurdsson puts Walcott through on the inside right but Cech comes off his line quickly to clear the ball out safely.
38′ – SUBSTITUTION
Sokratis goes off for Holding. We’ve got both Greek central defenders out with injury and are down with Mustafi and Holding as the only fit centre backs. Let’s hope the injuries are not too serious because the fixtures are piling up.
39′ – LACAZETTE CHANCES
Lacazette should have striked the ball first time but fumbles and has the ball nicked off him. He finds himself, a minute later, at the edge of the penalty box and gets tugged by Gueye. If Lacazette went down, that could have been a penalty.
43′ – RICHARLISON SHOT SAVED
Richarlison’s third strike on goal sees Cech saving well at his near post. That was a scorcher and Cech has been Arsenal’s best player so far.
HALF TIME: ARSENAL 0 – 0 EVERTON
Arsenal have struggled to find their rhythm and create chances. They need to find their fluency and close down the supply line to Richarlison who has had some great chances on goal. Sokratis departed injured for Holding who will need to be alert to snuff out Everton’s attack which have had more chances on goal than Arsenal.
46′ – NO CHANGE AT HALF TIME
A rare move by the coach with no subs on at half-time. Didn’t think I’d be saying this at the start of the season.
46′ – KEANE CHANCE
Keane somehow finds his way into the box and is a recipient of a teasing cross. Fortunately, his header is off target.
48′ – RAMSEY VOLLEY
Ozil’s laser guided corner finds Ramsey lurking outside of the box. His shot is well saved by Pickford.
53′ – EVERTON MOMENTUM
Arsenal need to wrestle possession back from Everton who have started the second half very well.
55′ – ⚽ LACAZETTE GOAL! ARSENAL 1 – 0 EVERTON
Lacazette receives the ball from Ramsey on the inside left channel and lashes the ball to the top corner. An excellent finish which is much needed for Arsenal.
58′ – ⚽ AUBEMEYANG! ARSENAL 2 – 0 EVERTON
Arsenal beat the offside trap with Ozil running down the right. Ozil passes it to Ramsey in the centre of the box but can only back heel the ball to Aubameyang who finishes easily. Replays show that the pass from Ramsey was a yard offside but we don’t really care, do we?
69′ – SUBSTITUTION
Iwobi comes on for Aubameyang. Here’s hoping Iwobi can kick on from his good performance in the Europa League.
71′ – CECH BRILLIANT SAVE
Good header by Keane. Cech does well to push it past the post. We really need this clean sheet.
80′ – SUBSTITUTION
Welbeck comes on for Ramsey. Despite an iffy game, that’s still 2 assists for Ramsey.
84′ – TOSUN CHANCE
Another great save from Cech as Tosun strikes from a distance.
92′ – XHAKA’S SHOT JUST WIDE
Good interplay between the Arsenal forward line results in Welbeck laying off or Xhaka to shoot from distance. His shot goes just wide.
FULL-TIME: ARSENAL 2 – 0 EVERTON
It was a slightly improved performance by Arsenal but 2 quick goals against the run of play by Lacazette and Aubameyang made sure we gained 3 crucial points in the chase for a top 4 position.
Not sure how we managed it, but we have our first clean sheet of the season!
Not sure either but got to be good for confidence!
Nice run of games coming. Let’s keep the winning run going. Some strike by Laca & 2nd goal was comically offside !
Thanks to man of the match Cech.
Of all the people who has ever played football, Mesut Ozil would be the only one who would opt for a pass from that position. I wish all our midfielders could figure out the best option as quick as him.Well.. Ramsey almost spoiled it and I think Ozil will be a bit pissed about Ramsey stealing one of his assists!
Laca again instrumental in our second half display.
How many times does it break down when it goes to Ramsey. Countless me thinks.
He’s way off the mark. We need to sell in January and reinvest in a winger
Tired of the Ramsey bashing.
Ozil is far more useless and should not play in any premier league team. He is a waste of space.
Ozil was far better than Ramsay today
that is not saying much both were poor tonight. ramsey got couple of assists but none of them were quality and ozil despite creating some chances was way off his quality
Rambo is a liability. Sell and replace in January please.
I assume you’re taking the piss Jijo ?
Had to happen sometime
Not sure how we managed to win actually, but will take anything! Great strike from Laca, that’s the kind of spark top quality players can provide when your team is playing like shit. He was also the one doing the most effective kind of pressing up front. Apart from him, Torreira also had a decent game, intercepting the opposition’s play quite a few times in midfield, and I’m sure his game was curtailed a bit with that early yellow. And Cech of course showed he still has it in him. Otherwise a very underwhelming performance, especially that frustrating first half.… Read more »
one thing i like about this team is we have a bite in us when we are tackling unlike previous years which was a constant criticism against arsenal. starting from the top lacca iwobi torreira bellerin and papa stands out. i remember one game against everton very recently i dont remember when we were up 1 or 2 nil and everton started getting on our faces and their was a brief altercation at half time after colemans challenge on ozil. after that we absollutely folded and everton scored and came back against arsenal. watching todays match gave me a different… Read more »
Definite change in mentality whuch was evident even when we lost to city and chelsea. Even our last few wins have been scrappy dog fight wins.
Thank you, Petr!
Love the post match interview with Aubameyang who complimented Cech saying it took a lot of balls to keep a clean sheet !!
Then he got told off
I think it’s about time we lay to rest this Leno-Cech debate on who should be no.1. Obviously, we didn’t splash that amount on Leno to play second fiddle but I think he is not ready and Cech is still far from done so easing him into first team play and him understudying Cech is not the worst idea. Come to think of it, am i the only one who think Rambo has done little to justify he deserves to be maintained on the current wage he is on let alone an increment-with his current performances? I know he recorded… Read more »
Good win, didn’t look great in the first half but second half a lot better, with Laca and Auba both likely to score…and they did! Clean sheet but lucky to have it, well played Petr. Let’s keep it going against Watford!
Upward and rising!!!
Did we kept a clean sheet??
Cech was immense today, like the Petr of the old days.
I’m one of those people who has been clamoring for Leno. I now see why Unai kept faith with Cech after the 2 games this week. Leno will have to up his game exponentially to knock Cech off, right now
To play not so well but win is still the stuff of champions; right?
Could we clone Sokratis, and start Sokratis alongside Sokratis for the remaining games?
Holding was pretty solid when he came on for Sokratis.
Mustafi was decent too
I want to see Kos and Sokratis. Hopefully we get the old Kos back.
People keep going on about our ‘lack of defensive organisation’ etc but our strongest teams have always had two really good CBs.
Look at what Van Dijk did for ‘pool for example.
it is telling that sokratis is the only player to have played all minuted for arsenal this season until he was subbed off. if you look from the start he is the only player that is playing consistently well. lacca is coming in second
I’m happy that Petr was our MOTM today (or at least for me). He’s got a lot of undeserved stick this season and I think he’s still got 1 good year left in him. I do expect our team to be rocky defensively through the season (kinda like Liverpool in Klopp’s first year) and we need our keepers to be at their best. Thanks Petr!
I thought Xhaka was good. Torreira was very good and Mustafi held the defence together well. They are really trying to change the way they play but it won’t happen overnight.
Happy to see Torreira FINALLY getting his first start ! Also encouraged that he & Xhaka seem comfortable alongside each other . Is it just me or Xhaka seem to have new sense of nastyness plus calm?
I thought Mustafi was the cause of our problems a few times in the first half eg he was out of position meaning Sokratis had to take out Theo and got injured
better in the second half though
Cech was immense. Enjoyed Torreira’s energy too. Ozil and Ramsey seem to get in each other’s way. Don’t think both should play. Onwards and upwards.
I think neither of them are suited for that right wing role, and it should be Ozil in the middle, and Iwobi/Mkhi in the wing. Frankly, Ramsey looks dreadful these days (in spite of his two ‘assists’ today). He needs to get his shit together.
Sell Ozil. He has been crap for years. Uli Hoeness is 100% right. And I’m saying this as a muslim turkish descent from Germany.
Complete waste of money. All he can do is make excuses. Meeting Erdogan is not why he is criticized, Gundogan is not criticized because he is a much better footballer than Ozil. Ozil is the most cowardly footballer I have ever seen.
Geoff Shreeves – what a mug. Laca says ‘Cech took a lot of balls’ and he responds with ‘steady with the language there, I know English isn’t your first language’. excruciatingly awkward. Doesn’t help that the idiot is asking him inane questions in the first place
Troy Deeny was talking about cojones onthe telly, why didn’t he get a telling off?
Last year playing that poorly we would have been lucky to get a draw. Hard work without the ball and great goalkeeping won us the game.
We had the second best home form last season we didn’t play ‘that poorly’ at home last year
My point was purely that we found a way to win without playing well. I like attractive football but I love winning more.
last season was our away form who cost us champions league football…with just home game we would have finish 2nd in the league
2nd place doesn’t let you Fuck the prom queen
Holding was good when he came on. I hope Sokratis’ injury is not bad. And Mustafi…
Lucas torreira is the new midfield general!
Happy happy happy
Back above United, where we belong
Pundits 2017: Arsenal need to start winning ugly. They play well and lose to often.
Pundits 2018: Arsenal are lucky. They could fall apart at anytime.
Me: Shut the fuck up. Let me feast on the tears of the risible unhappiness of Souness and Spit the dog.
How dare you speak this way about proper football men!
So right. Commentators talk like we lost the game and how terrible we are. I almost mooned my own TV when Laca blasted that one in.
Torreira starts = clean sheet, no rocket science. Chech still one of the best. Oezil doesn´t give a shit about defending and Xhaka is too cocky for his own good. All in all decent.
Why is Granit cocky?
I love how Laca comes up with these belters…more of those please!
He is looking great this season. Love his awareness of what is around him.
Night and day from last season. If he carries on like this, I feel he should get a call up for France.
There’s a reason that Giroud starts for France instead of Lacazette, though, isn’t there? Something about ‘nodes’ or some other such management-speak-esque babble that you came out with, wasn’t it?
Can we expect an annual offside goal at home to Everton from now on?
Auba both times too!
No he’s just so quick the cameras couldn’t tell he was actually onside. Very good call from eagle eyed lino 😉
Özil = 4 tackles. Toreira = 1.
Yeah but Torreira wins the ball back when he’s on the ground with his face
Ozil is the most overrated football player in history.
There is a reason why nobody else gets as much criticized as Ozil ever.
Ramsey = 2 assists. Ozil = 0.
Anything proved by either of those comparisons?
As much as Torreira’s out put is a little over exaggerated by many, his combativeness and positioning really helps us in this sort of games. OTOH, Ozil’s ills are often over criticised but there is merit in the fact that he is not committed enough when defending. He needs to offer much more. Particularly with Auba also not the best defensively, we were a bit lightweight at times against a very aggressive Everton side. But we put away the chances when we needed to and Ozil, Auba played a part there. Otherwise I was calling for their replacement with Guendouzi… Read more »
Geoff Shreeves is a Murdoch dick sucking shite bag cunt. He also probably smells of copydex, the scrotum faced weasel prick cunt.
That’s a lot of insults for one sentence
And yet not nearly enough.
“Woah, mind the language there! I know English isn’t your first language but…”
World is a much happier place when arsenal win, and much brighter when Maureen is miserable.
Improvement noticeable. But some players will surely have to leave before we get d perfect blend to Unais vision.
Till then, keep smiling
An important win. We are still only 6 off the top as the table is starting to shape up. I said it after first two games that Unai does not have the luxury of 3 seasons to get us into CL (If you head pundits like Neville). Emery knows it. We need to get into CL this season. BUT he also had to get us going immediately and stay within touching distance by game 7 (where previous seasons it may have been by game 10) Its just that much more competitive these days. Well done Unai. Team is still unbalanced… Read more »
Off-topic to the match report.
Why is Rowan Atkinson doing a Bond, amongst the other sponsors, in the background to our post-match press area?
New Johnny English movie is coming
It’s a Johnny English advert,
I was also shocked to see it but it’s out next month
Johnny English promotion I’d presume
Clean Sheet!!!
With Mustafi and Holding I might add.
Sanchez has been shit at manure. Happy days.
Level with Spurts, ahead of Manure, Watford up next.
Really would be happy to see the back of Ramsey and the recruitment of a pacy wide player. Ramsey has no place in the team that far forward that often, hes still living off that anomaly season where everything he touched flew in. No swallow your pride and find the Ramsey that partnered Arteta in deeper areas. Your not a fucking 10. Torreira Was excellent today as was holding when he came on.
Why? Ramsey adds so much bite. Instigated the goals for us and always happy to work defensively as well. If anything between two similar players in Ozil or him, prefer to see Ozil sold. Considering wage and lack of belief when defending, Ramsey is the better to retain. HIs age is also an advantage. AND we still have Mhki to back up. Then we add the wide player as well. Pity we did NOT add Mahrez last January and instead allowed ourselves to be hostage to the dictates of an agent trying to flog us Mhki (taking nothing away from… Read more »
A clean sheet and with Mustafi Holding playing. Torreira made a diff for us with his positioning and combative effort always. BUT where we gained there, Ozil’s defensive gumption a bit suspect still and Aubameyang largely failed to provide enough ball retention or carry it out from the back for us (even if he scored the goal) So mixed bag. We need to still work on reducing number of shots we allow at goal and that is not down to Cbacks or defense alone. Problematic as well today with Aubameyang in front of Monreal. The Left flank for us raided… Read more »
I’m not sure how we do it, but it’s a nice skill to have – still winning games after playing like shire and conceding do many opportunities to the opponent. The last four games, we’ve given the opponents enough opportunities for us to have no points at this stage of the season, yet here we are, 12pts in hand. Feels really good tbh. Not every time fancy football only to lose to a last minute goal or total capitulation. I could get used to racking up maximum points against teams we’re supposed to beat regardless of how we play. Then… Read more »