Arsenal: Szczesny, Jenkinson, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Gibbs, Arteta, Wilshere, Ramsey, Ozil, Cazorla, Giroud
Subs: Vermaelen, Rosicky, Walcott, Monreal, Flamini, Fabianski, Bendtner
—
Arsenal extended their lead at the top of the Premier League after a pulsating 1-1 draw against Everton at the Emirates this afternoon.
Arsene Wenger made four changes from the team which beat Hull in midweek. The manager brought back Olivier Giroud after his midweek rest against Hull, Kieran Gibbs replaced Nacho Monreal at left back, while Mikel Arteta and Jack Wilshere came into in place of Mathieu Flamini and Tomas Rosicky.
With both teams in confident mood because of excellent recent form, it was the visitors who started brightest. After a good spell of early possession, Kevin Mirallas fired in a low cross which fizzed across the Arsenal box but thankfully no blue shirt read the play.
Arsenal were somewhat wasteful with the ball in the early stages, adding to the pressure, and there were warning signs as Brian Oviedo found space down the Everton left, putting in good cross which required Mertesacker to head away.
Sylvain Distin then hit a shot wide from an Everton corner but as the game progressed Arsenal showed signs of getting back into it. But it was Everton who had the next attempt, Mirallas shooting high and wide when a cross to the back post towards Lukaku might have been the better option.
Seamus Coleman then had a go, shooting over after a very obvious handball in our box which Howard Webb ignored. At the other end Arsenal finally put together the kind of move they’re famous for. Santi Cazorla got it down the right hand side, he hit a first time cross which skidded across the Everton 6 yard box with Kieran Gibbs straining to make the touch which would have resulted in a goal.
Lukaku then found space to get in a cross which ran just behind Mirallas as Arsenal struggled to maintain possession for any period of time. Laurent Koscielny had to block a shot from the powerful Belgian, and when they did get up the other end of the pitch mistakes from Ozil and Jenkinson squandered possession.
Lukaku then got away with tripping up Koscielny off the ball after the Frenchman made a pass out of defence, and there was some attacking end product late in the half with Giroud involved. A Wilshere flick saw him through on goal but flagged offside, and moments later Tim Howard came out quickly to smother a chance from close range.
More intricate passing saw Aaron Ramsey clean through but again Howard came out to make a good save as the Gunners finished the half well and the teams went in level at the break.
There was an early second half shout for an Arsenal penalty against Oviedo, but the ball came off the Everton man’s shoulder, before Kieran Gibbs whacked a 30 yard volley not too far wide.
The Gunners bright start continued with a good move that almost fashioned a goal. An Ozil cross from the right hand side found Jack Wilshere at the back post. He clipped the ball back to Santi Cazorla but it was slightly behind the Spaniard and he couldn’t get any power in his close range header.
Everton weren’t cowed however, and Peinaar forced Szczesny into a good save after a swift break, but at the other end a fine Gibbs cross found Aaron Ramsey at the back post. He swiveled and shot at the near post but Howard pushed it away for a corner.
It’s wrong to say the game went into a lull but there was a period when both teams traded possession without doing a great deal with it. Lots of passing, full blooded tackles and plenty of effort but not much happened.
Szczesny had to make another save after Jack Wilshere let a ball run across him on the edge of the Arsenal box, and that saw Arsene Wenger make changes. Ramsey, Wilshere and Cazorla went off, Flamini, Walcott and Rosicky came on.
The Frenchman almost broke the deadlock Jenkinson got down the right hand side. He put a cross in which deflected out to Flamini on the edge of the box. He hit it first time and it fizzed just past the far post.
Kevin Mirallas forced Szczesny into another good save after he found space to crack a shot at the near post, and it proved important as the Gunners opened the scoring shortly afterwards.
Tomas Rosicky crossed it from midfield to Walcott at the back post. The winger headed it back across goal, Giroud completely missed it but Ozil was on hand to poke it home from close range. 1-0.
The joy was short-lived however as Everton equalised shortly afterwards. Ross Barkley made space in midfield, the ball came to Delofeu at the back post, Gibbs was really tight to him but he got off a shot which dipped viciously past Szczesny. That made it 1-1 and it really was a fantastic goal.
They had the keeper to thank for keeping them ahead when Lukaku found himself clean through after a deflection but the big Pole smothered with his legs. Arsenal had a couple of late corner which Everton dealt with well, and when Arteta lost it in midfield Lukaku came forward and shot over the bar with men better placed outside him.
And in injury time Olivier Giroud almost won it with a 25 yard volley that smashed off the corner of the bar with Howard well beaten.
In the end it’s hard to argue both teams deserved something from the game, a draw the fairest result on the day, and despite winning so many recently we do extend our lead at the top with that draw.
Now, to Napoli.
Giroud…so close.
Toughest game so far, Everton look a decent side.
Decent game would have liked to have gotten the 3 points but with our game seeming a little off today and Everton playing so well a draw is fair. The most frustrating thing is despite the fact that we are 5 points clear at the top, the announcers we’re talking about how this was a real test to our title credentials. When Man City draws to Southampton they’re still title contenders, when Chelsea lose to Stoke they’re still title contenders. Hell even though Man U lost to Newcastle and are now 13 points off the top everyone is still saying… Read more »
Fuck the pundits.
Not literally, they’re ugly.
That’s why it’s best to watch streams with arabic commentary..
I think we’d be more comfortable being the elephant in the room everytime a group of morons on TV talks about winning the league
AGONYYY to see the Giroud effort strike the post at the death
Great game of football. Everton have done well to get rid of Moyes.
I’d say and we’ve seen who United should have got, but Martinez is too nice a guy for me to want to join that train-wreck
Might be an option for a possible long term replacement to Wenger, I also rated what he did at wigan and how he managed to keep them up for so long and even win the fa cup. And judging from the outside he seems to have class and his sides play good football. We’re the Arsenal after all, not chelski were they pride themselves of being c’nts and playing like that..
me too.
I watch Al Jazeera and the Arab commentators love everything Arsenal.
Nice to see Theo getting back on the pitch and contributing. Fair result, Giroud’s a beast, defense kept Lukaku isolated and ineffective. Great match, 5 points clear.
Talking of the defense, I think Koss was the Boss. stuck to Lukaku like glue on paper
Yes, Gibbs should learn from him. Backed off Delefeu even it is was a wonder strike. We need to be able to hang on for ten minutes at one nil to the Arsenal.
Not every goal is the result of a mistake. Deulofeu is one of Barcelona’s brightest prospects with a huge future. We should be happy to split the points with Everton, they are brimming with quality and discipline.
I hold them in higher regard than their smug archrivals the Mugsmashers. Also, they gave us Arteta and let Man U have Moyes and Fellani.
Gibbs was doubled-up, he could not commit to attacking the man with the ball when Everton could have passed it around him. Rosicky (who I love) could have responded faster to help.
1-1 is not a disaster, but going 1-0 up with 10 to go hurts.
Am I the only one who thinks, if it was Monreal we wouldnt have conceeded?
Gibbs tends to be a tad reactive and stand off his marker.
But in all, fair result
He had a guy making a run to his left. If he stuck to Deuodnhakps, then he would have left the runner in acres of space.
Great game of football. so unlucky to not had gotten all three points, but we r indeed 5 points clear #AFC
Great game from coast to coast, but damn!!!
They deserved a point. Off to the Ettihad!
On a weekend when our competition had extremely winnable games, we extended our lead by 1 point. Over and done with, let’s move on.
I’ll take a draw. Now to beat man shitty and chelski
Fantastic game. One point earned instead of two points lost. Credit to Everton for a thoroughly entertaining match. If only HFB’s 25-yard screamer was a yard or two closer..
I’d say “farther”; the ball would have dipped in had he been a yard or two farther away from goal.
One point won
Didn’t quite click today, but they were well drilled alright, so probably fair.
Dirty cunts at times, allowed to get away with it by Ferguson’s real lasting legacy to the Premier League – Howard Webb.
well drilled !!!! played you off the park 1st half
We allowed you the ball in safe areas and restricted you to attempts that were mostly from distance. It’s not “played off the park” it’s a tactic.
Didnt like that triple substitution. Ramsey or Cazorla should have been left on
Infact they should have come on earlier! what are you on?
Nah, both seemed off the pace a bit today, good time to rest them before Wed
There are 2 more games to be played pretty quickly, and the next one would need us to keep possession so we desperately need them both in next match.
no need to overanalyze this one, fair result.
Fair play to Everton who were every bit our equal on the day. Great display, great manager.
Thought the triple substitution was a masterstroke when Wenger made it, took affirmative action to try and affect the result. But you couln’t deny Everton a point.
Their only weakness being that their two most dangerous players aren’t their players and will be gone by next season. Amidst all the “Martinez could become our next manager” stuff we should remember that as our manager he would likely not be able to borrow top players from Chelsea or Barcelona as we are rivals to them.
Lukaku yes, but Ross Barkley is probably not moving anywhere for a while.
Don’t really follow your logic there Gutbukkit. He has brought players to Everton on loan because Everton do not have the money to buy said players. At Arsenal he wouldn’t have to resort to signing players on loan. And besides, as impressive as his loan signings are they are not the sole reason Everton are flying so high. He coaches his teams to play outstanding football retaining posession acutely, but also pressing opposition into making mistakes. I haven’t forgotten Wigan beating us 2-1 at The Emirates when we were in good form. That’s not to mention all the other scalps… Read more »
I’m just saying that his loan players are the difference between his 5th place and the 7th or 8th they would probably be in without them. Thus his skills as a coach may not be quite as good as results would seem to suggest. You are probably correct that he was the guy who got those loanee players, which is definitely a skill that Moyes doesn’t have, but nevertheless I maintain that he is probably having a slightly easier ride than he might get were he managing us and had to go out and buy such players outright in order… Read more »
And your first paragraph confirms everything wrong with the loan system! If you cannot afford, then you should not have. Chavs last season with 23 players out on loan, farcical. Cannot play against parent club,Farcical. City paying Adebaywhore £95k a week to play against their rivals, Farcical. No loans to sides in the same division, Simples!
I’d say any argument that puts a big name individual centerstage instead of a team performance or ethic is very likely to miss the mark.
He doesn’t just have “a” big name individual centrestage. He has two of them (if you don’t also consider Barkley in that category). I’m not arguing that he doesn’t instil his team with a great team ethic or get the best from all of his players. I’m just pointing out that if you aren’t in the Champions League but have a ‘decent’ squad already then it is a lot easier to borrow a couple of top players then it would be to buy them from teams with whom you would be competing directly if you were Arsenal. He has an… Read more »
I’d still take him as our new manager though, as long as we had a one or two year handover period with him as number two, and then sent Wenger upstairs. Does anybody know Martinez’ attitude to Directors of Football, by the way?
I guess you got me wrong. I was sort of indicating that 2 big name loanees or not, its really the team’s performance, gameplan etc that makes the difference. Those big names are red herrings, there is not much use talking about that. If martinez didnt have them at everton or anywhere else, he’d have someone else and try to use that someone else – a bit like Wenger has done over the years – i bet Moyes with these players wouldve still played the same boring shit brand of football. Totally agree with loving seeing Everton swat Chelsea out… Read more »
Looking at the weekend as a whole, it’s been good. Yes a win would’ve been fantastic but Everton deserved a draw. Only annoying thing is that if we had a sub left after Ozil scored, and Monreal had come on I don’t think Delofeu would have scored that. Still, 5 points clear. Not too shabby at all.
I guess you didn’t witness the TRIPLE substitution
I guess you didn’t read the bit where he said, “IF WE HAD A SUB LEFT”.
I guess you didn’t witness the IF.
it was edited.
Like Edu’s fake passport, you mean?
I thought Flamini and Arteta as a duo failed their positioning just before the goal. One went in too tight and got turned, the other went in late for the overload and got caught upfield while the ball was spread.
Definitely the best a team has played against us in the league this season & that includes the two defeats we have suffered.
Shame we couldn’t hold on.
We have to start Rosicky against City..
We have to start Rosicky. Thats all….
We really could have used his pressing from the start today in my opinion. Would have gone with him over Wilshere. Great game though
Wouldn’t be surprised if le Prof wanted Rosicky fresh for the CL game at Napoli. He’s usually a shoe-in for European games.
Best everton side in years! props to Martinez but surely the subs should have come much earlier!
rosicky did more than santi for the entire time he was on!
Martinez is a super manager.
They looked pre-planned to me, I get the feeling that there is a plan A that helps keep everyone rested enough to get us through the week, unless something happens in game to change it.
I had a funny feeling we’d draw this one, and its no disgrace against a very well organised and extremely competent Everton side. It’s disappointing we conceded after taking the lead, but both sides were deserving of the point and I can’t fault the second half effort. Can’t win them all and I have a funny feeling we’ll beat City at the Etihad, so I’m going with my funny feelings. Onwards.
No doubt Everton are the best team we have faced this season, they are IMO title contenders, they’ve only lost once all season.
Can’t complain with the point, onwards & upwards!
Certain title contenders is a bit far fetched, they don’t have quad depth (someone fetch the irony police for me, now). Everton have a realistic chance for top 4.
Certainly they are better than the lilly white scum.
The boys will have to make up for it next weekend at Etihad. 5 points out of Everton, City and CHelski games are absolutely must if we have to stay on course.
And please Wenger leave Ramsey and Ozil behind when you travel to Italy.
In the end it’s a great result, but shit I was really hoping for the win
That late Giroud effort would have been magical
think walcott should have started in plce of santi,he’s been off in last few games.
Both teams were expected to have tired legs later on. We probably may have been looking to play safe with midfielders till around 60-65 min then get Walcott (and Rosicky maybe) to turn on the pace and verticality. Everton had kept Deulofeu for that. However, i guess Arsenal were not planning to have all 3 subs at the same time, and that was probably forced due to the incessant intensity of the match till then and we did not have enough possession to control the pace of the game and slow it down to our convenience, hence tired legs earlier… Read more »
Flamini for Cazorla might have been worth doing say 10 minutes before the other two. It would have given us less of a jolt than subbing a quarter of the team in one go, not that we noticeably struggled anyway. Flamini would have had more time to get into the groove with Arteta, which might have helped us stabilise the game a bit more towards the end. Who really knows though?
Oh blogs, remember to give Tim Howard a 10/10 for cuntishness in the player ratings. That time wasting fiend really slowed things up when were on top.
But fair play to Webb for giving him a yellow as soon as the time wasting started. Usually refs wait until well after 80th minute to give a Yellow (if at all they are given..); Webb did really well in awarding that card as early as 75th minute.
I was thinking its cold outside. All of a sudden when the match ended i am sweating.
Everton playing good but we should have held on. Now to Naples.
Full credit to Everton….sorta sucks though. Off to the Etihad ey
By far the toughest game so far. And hugely entertaining. I am so proud of the Gunners,obviously Everton were on fire but we matched it with fiery intensity. Just no luck. Had that HFB cracker went in, it would have been the most devastating winner ever delivered this season. COYG!
Thank god for Mertesaker in the first 20 min!
‘You shall not pass!’
Great match of football… Fair result is a draw but fuck a fair result… And that shot by Giroud… Just sublime… Football is game of such small margins
My exact thoughts; fuck a fair result. Absolutely gutted we didn’t take the 3 points. Fair play to Everton, but football has never been about what you deserve from the game (at least not all the time). We shouldn’t have been whining about our’s or Everton’s “best”, we should have come out of that game “f**king the prom queen”. Before the game I thought we might be able to afford dropping some points again Citeh and the denizens of the Bridge but now I wouldn’t expect us to contemplate losing/drawing against either of them. It’s gone now, off to the… Read more »
Though Koscielny was outstanding. Romelu Lukak-who?
He is really tricky to mark and made some good movements. Agreed that Kos did really well to marshal him. Put in one or two crosses but that was it from him.
Its a little picky but should Lukaku have walked?
I can see it being an accident, but you trip a guy off the ball, just after he’s made you look like an amateur?
Feels a little reddish to me
Come on, it’s yellow at best.
is this a good result considering the next 3 fixtures?
a draw is a good result, given the circumstances. And I’d choose 5 points cushion everyday all day.
especially considering who they have beaten…, but its a long season, just hope we can rotate without any serious changes in performance, feel like ramsey at least needs a good break, giroud too, 1 match off isnt going to cut it, especially if hes doing alot of training. i say and i know i will get the red thumbs for this but vs napoli. gk: szczesney, back 4 : monreal mertesacker vermaelen jenkinson (mertesacker is a more important organiser imo) jenks mid 2: flamini wilshere (at 60m if all is well arteta on wilshere off) attacking 3 mids: rosicky ozil… Read more »
No problem with that lineup at all. BFG’s game is more about clever positioning than lung busting runs, so he is probably not close to the red line. Maybe start Arteta in front of Wilshere for a more solid defensive shield, bring Jack on at 60 if we are looking for a goal. Ramsey deserves a break, Cazorla can come off the bench if needed, though I wouldn’t mind seeing Gnarby get some game time. Another thing, Bendtner spent some time in Italy on loan so he might have a little bit of insight into how to approach this opportunity.
No. A draw wins us the group and gets us (in all likelihood) an easier round of 16 tie. Don’t want to underestimate any of the other teams, but Juventus seems to be the lone “tough” in that pot unless Porto seek in.
You all guys are soo content with the game and result, dunno why I feel a little down. Maybe because I have become so accustomed to seeing my Arsenal taking all the three points most games 😛
In other news, STILL TOP OF THE FUCKING TABLE!!
It’s disappointing that we didn’t take all the three points. But having watched the game, I will give credit where its due. Everton played really well.
Let’s see what the next two weeks bring.
Fair result sure, but so frustrated just expect Arsenal to win everything now.
Good match and fair result. Impressed with Everton and especially Barkley. Would have been an amazing winner for Giroud.
I actually thought Webb was decent. Maybe I’m in the minority.
Five. Points. Clear.
Maybe some tired legs from El Rambo today? Everton controlled the ball but were never really a threat to score. Incredible shift by Metiscielny on Lukaku. Giroud was tireless as usual. Beautiful man, beastly shot…wish it had gone in. Still top of the league! 🙂
Arteta was (2day) and has been (at times in the season) a liability. Understandably defensive mid isn’t his natural position, but that said many of his passes kill arsenal’s flow. Think Flamini offers a lot more, unfortunately he can’t play every match though.
thought Wilshere was extremely poor today, and cazorla still misplaces too many passes for the 3rd or 4th consecutive game. walcott and rosicky were a better choice as starters
I actually think Cazororla was more lively today than he has been in recent games.
Loved the way Kos just owned Lukaku. He had absolutely no influence on the game. Shows how solid our defence is. Hope it stays that way.
COYG
Koscielny will have a tough time in the dressing room now, trying to get Lukaku out of his back pocket, he’s a big lad
If Giroud had scored on that last shot, I think I’d probably need to change trousers afterwards. What. A. Shot.
I’ll take the draw,even though it wasn’t what we wanted..it could have been worse if we didn’t scored first..tnx to Wolcot who is not good in the air,and best midfielder in the world Özil.
Those players that ended the match is our 1st 11,Jenko excluded…but include Ramsey and Sagna!!
Time for moaners to crawl out of their hell hole. Moaners’s Club activated!
I am…a bucket of Chamakh’s hair gel! I am…Don Lino’s magic envelopes!
A fair result from an average performance. Everton are a decent side, but Sky were have too much of a wank over them. Yes they dominated the midfield for that first 40 minutes, but how many clear-cut chances did they make? Chez didn’t have anything to do in the first half. With the Toffeemen throwing themselves at us, the smart thing for Wenger to do would have been to bring on Walcott before half-time; instead, he waited until there was just 20 minutes to go before he introduced Theo, who apart from setting up the goal looked very dangerous. That… Read more »
The tactic of wenger worked we took the lead, just didn’t held on.
Wenger had walcott, martinez had deulofeu. Both ended up being decisive.
Giroud really was excellent. He was all over the pitch. Getting his foot in and chasing lost causes.
As you say, we have the the other two blue teams now. This is the big test now I guess.
Yeah, despite all of Everton’s possession in the first half, the best chance (Gibbs in the centre forward channel) feel to us. Felt if the half had lasted 5 minutes more, we would have been up 1-0 going into the break.
Arteta was really poor today. Flamini should have started. Walcott needs to start, gives us a different option and width. Wengers got to choose between Wilshere and Ramsey, he cant play both. Giroud looks really tired. I’d have Monreal over Gibbs, makes us alot stronger diwn the left.
Jenkinson played really well though.
Walcott fares better when Sagna is behind him at the moment. That and the fact he is coming back from an operation might have been on Wenger’s mind when he held him back for the triple substitution. It will be interesting to see what he does with him in Naples.
Should of held on, I think after we score late the players relaxed a little thought the game is won that pass should never came to deflou, in the end fair result, i would take draw against city and a win against chelsea and chelsea presumably win vs c.palace we could be off 6 points of city and chelsea.
Lets face it lads, after that villa game I wouldve ate ya hand off to be 5 points clear after 14 games or whatever it is. Everton are an excellent team, the best we’ve played this season, and I’d include Dortmund in that particular statement
True but we are now near Christmas with our toughest set of fixtures yet. Every point dropped is a still…. a point dropped.
I thought Liverpool (home), Dortmund (away), and Man United (away) was supposed to be our toughest?
Or was this before people realized that under Moyes Manure are a mid-table team?
Just want to say I cringe every time I read a post saying ‘my’ arsenal. Its not yours
I’d like to believe it is. I’m a fan after all!
Supporting Arsenal is a highly personal thing. My Arsenal doesn’t deliberately commit fouls, by the way. The infrequent deliberate fouls must be coming from somebody else’s Arsenal.
I don’t get the thumbs down.
Everton had us chasing shadows for first 30 mins but did not do that much with all their possession. Their tactics were very good and just about all their players put in a proper shift and played at their best. We grew into the came but never really clicked yet we still could of won it! Am disappointed not to be 7 points clear….. 🙁
They didn’t do much with their possession because that’s how we play nowadays. They can have the ball if they want it, but they won’t get to do much with it. We weren’t chasing shadows, we were watching a shadow boxer.
We consistently play like that. Comfortable in giving away possession. Pundits havent caught up yet, but when do they ever, but blog readers should by now. We generally seem to turn on the heat at around 60 mins.
Im sorry but to all those saying Everton “deserved” a draw, thats complete rubbish. How many times have Arsenal had most of the possession without having shots and target only for the pundits to say they had loads of the ball and didnt do anything with it. That is exactly what everton did until we scored the goal.
Arsenal had the better chances. Fact
Arsenal had more chances. Fact.
Dont get me wrong Everton played well. But we should have won the match. Still a good result to take into some more tough matches
You’re not Rafa Benitez, are you?
No sure what my fellow Gonners think but thought Jenks slotted in well and focused well.
Thought he played fairly well, especially since Wilshere/Ozil/Cazorla/whoever was rotated to the right flank didn’t give him much support in the first half.