It’s fair to say things are not going well at Everton at the moment. Rafa Benitez’s team are without a win since September 25th, and lost the Merseyside derby 4-1 at Goodison Park last week.
Fans are unhappy, with a 27th minute walk-out in protest at the board planned for this evening.
Nevertheless, Mikel Arteta is taking nothing for granted when he returns to the club where he spent six seasons as a player. Asked what he was expecting from Everton tonight, he said, “A team that wants to put things right and win, and on Monday night at Goodison I know what I am going to expect under the lights with the fans they have so it will be a tough game.”
And on their tough recent form, he continued, “There are a lot of teams that are going through that because this is a league has become that competitive that the moment you lose a game or two, the pressure is coming for everybody.
“It is no different there, obviously it’s a very special place to go back there because I had some amazing years there, so I’m looking forward to it.”
The Gunners come into this one having lost their last two away games, although the Arsenal boss is hoping his team can be fueled by the frustration of defeat at Old Trafford.
“The mood after the game was that we were extremely disappointed because we threw the game away,” he said.
“I think we should have taken more out of that game. It was very pleasing for periods, because the performance that you are able to put in against that team was very positive but you need to know how to win those games when you are as dominant as we were in periods against them.”
Everton v Arsenal
Kick-off: 20.00
Live blog coverage from 19.00 with team news
I really hope this is Arteta, either playing mind games or showing the opposition some fair respect.
I’m certain no Arsenal fan wants to entertain the idea of a difficult game at a struggling Everton, definitely not after the shambles at Old Trafford.
The jury is still well and truly out for me with Arteta. I want him to succeed and can see some excellent youngsters though have this gut feeling a better manager would have us creating far more chances than we are. We are currently on 12 for big chances created. 15th in league table for big chances created. Very worrying and tonight might just prove my gut right 😩😩
Regardless of the stats you have picked, we are 7th in the table with a game in hand. We could end tonight in 5th, which shows that chances created isn’t the only important goal. We have defended better than in previous seasons, and have done better off set plays, and the table is reflecting that.
I’d love us to create more chances, but you build a team on a solid defensive foundation. We have gone some way to mostly building that, next we need to add more open play creativity, and I think we can!
Sincerely hope you are right Bob. I’m just expressing my doubts. Let’s see how we get on tonight.
Just to highlight another stat Bob 😃 after 14 games last season we had conceded 18. I believe we have conceded 20 so far this season. Just saying 🤣
Would love to see all kids tonight, Martinelli, esr saka and ödegaard.
COYG
Hope Lokonga gets a game.
And ESR is fit to play with Saka.
Same
I trust the process as much as I trust Arsenal to end Everton’s poor form. Of course I would like to be proven wrong but if you’re a team experiencing a downturn we are the perfect “reset” team to play.
This is dicey, much like our home game against Chelsea last season. It proved a turning point in our season.
I hope we start on the front foot.
If we score first, especially before the 27th minute, things could really go awry for them. But if we allow them come at us, and get their fans baying for more, we could be in trouble.
My gut feeling says it will be the former though.
COYG!!!
Arteta needs to get his first XI right, which I believe was why we lost in OT against ManU. He also doesn’t have to bring pressure on to the team by calling it a “tough match”.
I really thought we were making progress and when I read “Arsenal by numbers” after the Liverpool match, I was disheartened. Newcastle game was so-so and the OT performance showed as to why we haven’t made much progress. Losing 5 games in 14 is quite a sad record really. Yes, we are a team in rebuilding phase but it cannot be forever.