Everton v Arsenal: Premier League –as it happened via The Guardian
Ashley Williams scored his first goal for Everton to secure a fine morale-boosting victory and end Arsenal’s long unbeaten run in a pulsating game
9.52pm GMT
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Williams atones for error as Everton come from behind to sink Arsenal
9.45pm GMT
Ronald Koeman got the response he wanted from his players. Well, not immediately but he did after 30 minutes of the first half when his Everton players started to do everything he wanted them to. His midfield were sharp in the tackle, his forwards were motivated and had movement and his defence was resolute in the face of huge pressure late in that game. The one downside to that fine victory is that Jagielka is now suspended for the Merseyside derby. As for Arsenal, they struggled a bit phjysically. Coquelin and Xhaka didn’t boss midfield as McCarthy and Gueye stamped their authority on the game and therefore the supply lines to Ozil and Sanchez were not as good as they could have been. That said, they could, and probably should, have scored in the final minute of stoppage time as they hammed on the door. That would have made me look good for my prediction too. A good night for the blues then, Everton and Chelsea. Thanks for your emails. Goodnight.
And one final email: “I thought modern football was spinning out of financial control,” writes Peter Oh. “Based on your readers’ scorching missives, it’s nothing compared to what has happened to modern firefighting.”
9.39pm GMT
Take a deep breath. It’s over.
9.38pm GMT
90+4 min: Somehow Everton don’t concede as Arsenal ping about four shots at goal that culminate in Baines clearing off the line, Lukaku racing clear and setting Barkley up, badly, when he could have scored. The reason? Cech was still galloping back. What a finish to a frantic, wonderful game …
9.37pm GMT
90+3 min: The corner is cleared and Jagielka is sent off for a second yellow card as he pulls back Perez.
9.35pm GMT
90+2 min: Xhaka floats a ball towards Monreal at the back post. Coleman leaps and heads clear for a corner. Cech’s up for this one.
9.35pm GMT
90 min: There’ll be four minutes added time. Barkley clatters a shot at Cech when all he had to do was square the ball to Mirallas for a tap-in. Everton win a corner and take it short in the hope they can waste time. They do keep possession. Can they see this out?
9.33pm GMT
89 min: McCarthy is replaced by Funes Mori. He’s won the midfield battle with Xhaka. His furious tackling at the end of the first half helped swing this game the way of Everton too.
9.32pm GMT
88 min: What a din at Goodison. The fans almost fall silent though as Sanchez drifts a ball in towards Giroud’s head but it’s inches away and Stekelenburg clasps the ball gratefully.
9.31pm GMT
87 min: Arsenal’s marking was poor there but Williams and Everton won’t give a flying one. Maybe he was Xhaka’s man. Maybe he wasn’t. Could Koeman salvage another season with a win against Arsenal.
9.30pm GMT
What a moment for Williams. Barkley plays a brilliant ball into the box, Williams steams in and fires a header low into the net. Goodison erupts. It’s his first goal for the club. What a goal. How important that could be for Everton’s season.
9.29pm GMT
84 min: Lukaku is fouled by Koscielny (they’ve had a fine battle tonight). Baines whips the free-kick into the box where a header is pinged down into an Arsenal player. Moments later Jagielka forces a fine stop from Cech. Corner …
9.27pm GMT
82 min: Gueye turns beautifully to send his marker the wrong way and then plays a delicious little one-two before trying to feed the ball through to Lukaku, only to see his pass dink off an Arsenal defender and roll through to Cech. That was fleet-footed brilliance by the Everton midfielder.
9.25pm GMT
80 min: Lukaku holds the ball up well and finds Coleman, on the gallop, on the right. He throws a few shapes before drifting in a left-footed cross that is cleared comfortably. The pace has dipped just a little. Not by much though.
9.24pm GMT
78 min: What a show of faith in Dominic Calvert Lewin this is by Koeman. The 19-year-old, signed from Sheffield United for £1.5m, makes his debut. He replaces Enner Valencia, who gets a rousing round of applause for his hard work tonight.
A teenager coming on against Arsenal with the score 1-1? Hmmm.
9.21pm GMT
77 min: Allen Matthew Turner writes: “In response to Ali Robertson, if your uncle was making £35,000 a year, only put out one fire in 50 years and it took him three hours then he was actually making £583,333.33 per hour. Also, he wasn’t a fireman.”
9.19pm GMT
75 min: Sanchez gets free in the inside-left channel again. His ball inside is at an awkward height for Iwobi, though, who can’t get his body under control as he prods a shot just wide.
9.18pm GMT
73 min: Everton have their juices up. Lukaku wallops a shot at Monreal. Then Barkley whips in a wonderful ball that hits Koscielny and stops dead a couple of feet from the goal-line. Lukaku tries to get to it but as he gets his body in front of Koscielny, Iwobi pokes the ball away. Coleman plays a fine ball in moments later that is oh so close to finding its way through to Lukaku. This is much better from Everton
9.15pm GMT
70 min: Oxlade Chamberlain is off and Iwobi is on for Arsenal. And Walcott too. He’s replaced by Giroud.
9.14pm GMT
69 min: Sometimes there is no finer sight in football than a big man running really, really fast. Lukaku was that glorious sight just then, knocking the ball past Gabriel and racing after it in thrilling style only to slice his shot into the side-netting.
9.11pm GMT
67 min: Mirallas replaces Lennon, who has had a quiet second half. “On TV they just showed Chris Waddle announcing the game,” writes JR in Illinois. “The headset he is wearing is gigantic. He is almost literally all just … headphones.” Maybe he is hard of hearing and needs massive cans JR. He’s no spring chicken these days.
9.10pm GMT
64 min: Sanchez is released into the box, where he poses a rare old threat. He shimmies to the byline and drills a cross in that Williams blocks. Then Monreal picks up the rebound and fizzes a cross over … everyone. Arsenal come back again. Everton are on the ropes … but they survive. There is a cracking pace to this game.
9.08pm GMT
63 min: Valencia, who has got himself into good positions all night, whips a low cross in towards Lukaku only to see it bounce off Koscielny and into Cech’s arms. That could, very easily, have been an own goal had the ricochet been a bit crueler.
9.05pm GMT
62 min: The game is swinging back in Everton’s favour. They’re playing with vim and vigour once more. Here’s Ali Robertson: “I had an uncle that was an underemployed fireman for 50 years at, I guess, around 35k a year. He only had to put out one fire, that took him about 3 hours. Was he paid almost £10,000 per hour? Charles Antaki thinks so.”
9.04pm GMT
60 min: Barkley finds space behind Coquelin and fizzes a left-footed shot just wide from 20 yards. Then Coquelin’s studs find Gueye’s shin and the Arsenal midfielder would appear to be lucky to avoid a yellow card. He’s had a few nibbles tonight.
9.03pm GMT
57 min: Some brave goalkeeping by Stekelenburg stops Ozil from nipping in to get a free shot on goal. Bellerin had slipped the German in on goal but the Everton keeper rushed out and took a whack off Baines as he gathered the ball. I think his baubles took the brunt of Baines’s studs. Ooyah! Some deep breaths later and he’s up and at it again.
8.59pm GMT
55 min: Everton break and Baines is tripped by Coquelin 20 yards from goal. Barkley stands over it … but his curled effort on goal is blocked by the wall.
8.58pm GMT
53 min: Suddenly Arsenal are bringing the gegen … pressing Everton into a corner and forcing Coleman into a hurried clearance. Arsenal come back, Oxlade-Chamberlain slipping Sanchez in down the left wing. The Chilean pulls the ball back to Ozil who, completely unmarked, uncharacteristically curls the ball over from 12 yards when the net was gaping and Ozil was well positioned. Well, it happens.
8.56pm GMT
52 min: Giroud and Iwobi are warming up for Arsenal. Here’s a lovely interview with the Arsenal youngster.
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Alex Iwobi: ‘I did extra training. My mum made me do kick-ups in the living room’
8.55pm GMT
50 min: Dink, dink, dink, dink, dink. Arsenal are dominating possession but Everton are holding them back. But there is a feeling that if there is too much more of this ball-hogging from Arsenal, they will find a way through.
8.52pm GMT
49 min: A warning sign for Everton. Sanchez, Walcott and Ozil play three of the simplest one-touch passes you will ever see and create a crossing opportunity for Sanchez. One that Walcott can’t take, as he heads over. How Giroud would have loved that.
8.51pm GMT
47 min: Bellerin dinks a lovely little ball forwards to Coquelin, who returns the favour. But Baines stops Bellerin in his tracks and Everton clear. And now Charles Antaki brings the maths: “Erm, here goes: £400,000 a week, say for one game, played over 90 minutes, £400,000 / 90 …. (wrestles with pen and paper, gives up, uses trusty computer calculator, though not confidently)… yes, £4,400 a minute. Ah no, that’s with rounding.. £4,444! My final offer.”
8.49pm GMT
45 min: Peep! And off we go again. Lukaku, not a man known for his pressing, puts Cech under pressure and forces him to wallop the ball clear. That’s a sign that Everton will begin where they left off.
8.48pm GMT
Right, well Everton looked a completely different team when Koeman flared his nostrils and his team responded and pressed Arsenal. That said, they will need to create a great deal of chances to win this game as they feel Arsenal might only need three to score one or two goals. Everton made need 10. Keep your eye on tempers spiralling out of control in this second half too. McCarthy needs to keep his lid under control. Everton can’t afford a sending off. And how is this new Arsenal spine? Can it withstand a furious second half in the stormy north-west? A place that has done for previous title challenges? We’ll see.
8.35pm GMT
An email: “Can we have the maths of Charles Antaki regarding Sanchez?” demands Yoann Lechenault. “Because I think he didn’t switch off just his moral scruples.”
8.34pm GMT
That was great. And my prediction of 2-2 is still alive.
8.34pm GMT
45 min: Everton must wish the half could carry on. They look affronted as the half-time whistle goes. Then there is a load of pushing and shoving between the two teams as they try to get down the tunnel. This has been highly entertaining.
8.31pm GMT
And there’s that missing quality. Gueye finds Baines out on the left. He sends Walcott for a copy of the Echo with a little swivel of the hips, and then whips in a beautiful ball with his right foot for Coleman to glance into the far corner. A deserved equaliser. Everton had already found their mojo, they just needed that moment of quality.
8.29pm GMT
42 min: There’s a pulsating tempo in this game now. Barkley shows lovely feet to skip inside Bellerin and then wallops a crossfield pass over to Lukaku. He controls the ball and then slows play down unnecessarily. The result is a cross into the box that is cleared by Koscielny. Then McCarthy clatters into Coquelin and is booked for his trouble.
8.26pm GMT
38 min: Barkley fizzes it in, it bounces up at Monreal, who makes a pig’s ear of it, and then lands at Lennon’s feet. Feet that he can’t reorder in time to get a decent shot away. The result is an effort that drifts over the bar. It wasn’t an easy chance, though. Then Arsenal break and win a corner at the other end as Sanchez tries to find one of many Arsenal players who threatened to outnumber Everton in their own box.
8.24pm GMT
36 min: Everton are on top now and creating by far the better chances. Meanwhile: “Not sure if playing ‘Story of the blues’ will go down well with the blue contingent on Merseyside,” writes Lee Taylor. “Wylie is a big red and delights in having ‘Heart as big as Liverpool’ (parodied by Julian Cope as Liver big as Hartlepool’) at Anfield. There you go.” Don’t grass me up Lee. Everton win a free-kick over on the right in Arsenal’s half. Barkley to whip it in.
8.22pm GMT
34 min: Barkley dinks a delicious ball over the Arsenal defence that is just an inch too far in front of Valencia, who was racing into the box to get on the end of it. Then Lukaku shifts the ball past Gabriel and clatters a shot into the Park End. He hurried that. Needed a little more zen in his boots there.
8.18pm GMT
31 min: Barkley and McCarthy clatter into a couple of tackles and get the crowd off their feet and behind the team. Lennon is released on the left. He zips into the box but slices wide. That’s better from Everton. Arsenal aren’t doing much. Everton might just be sensing that now.
8.16pm GMT
27 min: Everton win a corner after some good interplay by Valencia and Coleman on the right. The Irishman’s cross hits the first man, though, and Everton have a corner. Barkley whips it in, Valencia leaps, but heads over. This is one of those games when the most-maligned player on the pitch seems to be getting all of the ball. You might call it Moussa Sissoko-syndrome.
8.13pm GMT
26 min: “What was the figure that that Chinese club was willing to pay Sánchez – £400,000 a week?” writes Charles Antaki, answering his own question. “So by my maths that’s £4,400 a minute. Seems worth it, if you switch off your moral scruples for a while.”
8.12pm GMT
24 min: Baines gets Everton motoring up the left wing before switching play to the right. Valencia has the chance to play in Coleman, which he ignores and instead clatters the ball off a yellow shirt. And then he has the chance to play in Barkley, which he ignores, only for the move to break down. A bit of quality and Everton are working the opportunities to cause Arsenal problems. Yup, quality. It’s been hopelessly absent here.
8.10pm GMT
23 min: “Southern Rail barely reach Southampton,” writes Tim Hall in response to Raymond Reardon. “Bit like Ron and Everton really.” Honk.
8.08pm GMT
22 min: Well Everton have done absolutely nothing to get the home fans onside. There are howls of derision as Coleman hoiks the ball out of play instead of drifting a ball down the line towards Valencia. Arsenal lead without having got out of second gear.
8.07pm GMT
Sanchez fires a low shot towards the corner that Stekelenburg has covered but (and it’s a big but) it clatters off Williams, who has had an awful few minutes, and into the centre of the goal where the keeper can only get a despairing fingertip to it. A deserved lead, despite the fortune on Sanchez’s part.
8.05pm GMT
17 min: Coquelin is fouled by Jagielka
this far outside the penalty area. It followed some diabolical defending by Everton in which they had about 323 chances to clear the ball and took none of them. Among that slapstick defending Williams managed to stick his studs into Gueye’s knee (by accident, I might add). Williams is a heavy lad. Gueye isn’t. He’s hobbled off for treatment. What can Arsenal do with this free-kick. Ozil and Sanchez stand over it.
8.02pm GMT
15 min: Ronald Koeman is trying to push his team up the pitch with his huge flapping arms. It’s not working, mind. A one-two between Oxlade-Chamberlain (who has been bright so far) and Sanchez, almost releases the young Englishman in the Everton penalty area but again Williams steps in.
8.00pm GMT
14 min: “With the wheels falling off Everton, after beginning like a train, seems to indicate that Ronald Koeman has brought his Southern Rail background from his previous environs to Goodison,” begins Raymond Reardon. “You don’t know whether they are going to turn up, or whether they are going to lay down tools, and whether their patronage are going to be left stranded.”
7.59pm GMT
12 min: Arsenal, perhaps having realised that they’ve allowed Everton to gain a bit of confidence, go into possession mode, creating little triangles all over Goodison Park and frustrating the team in blue. Finally they release Monreal on the left, who slides in Oxlade-Chamberlain. His whipped-in cross is cleared well by Williams, though.
7.57pm GMT
11 min: A better spell for Everton here. They’re using their width to good effect. Valencia is finding space on the right; Lennon likewise on the left. The fans respond with some concerted noise.
7.56pm GMT
8 min: Everton break and Valencia pokes the ball through to Lukaku in the inside-right channel. It’s a dangerous moment for Arsenal. The Belgian has time to look up and pick out a team-mate in the box. But instead, he does everything in a hurry and whacks the ball off a defender and out for a corner. A corner that comes to nothing.
7.54pm GMT
6 min: Oxlade-Chamberlain finds Monreal on the overlap. He drags the ball back to Ozil, 12 yards from goal, but the cool Arsenal forward is leaning back to reach the ball and sends it well over.
7.53pm GMT
5 min: Barkley, under intense pressure, does well to keep possession in his own half and finds a pass out wide to relieve the pressure but Everton are struggling to get out of their own half. The groans from the home fans suggest this isn’t the start they were hoping for.
7.50pm GMT
3 min: Everton win a corner after some good work from Gueye. Barkley races over to take it. It’s drilled/mishit (delete as appropriate) low into the box and flicked out for a goal-kick by Lukaku.
7.49pm GMT
2 min: McCarthy has a nibble at Xhaka straight away as if to prove a point to Koeman, who asked for a bit of the devil in his players tonight. But moments later, Barkley plays a dire pass back to Baines that Sanchez nicks. He races past Baines and tries to thread the ball through to Ozil but his pass is just overhit. Sanchez’s batteries are fully charged. Look out Everton.
7.46pm GMT
1 min: Peep! Everton are shooting from right to left on my telly. Arsenal, in yellow (why?), the other way.
7.41pm GMT
The theme tune from Z-Cars dances through the evening air. Which means one thing: here come the two teams. It’s red v blue beneath the floodlights. I have high hopes for this …
7.39pm GMT
There was a time
when Everton had title hopes when these two teams met at Goodison Park. That time was 1985. And those title hopes were realised. Will Arsenal realise theirs this season?
7.33pm GMT
You’ve probably already seen this stat but here it is again anyway …
93 – Arsenal have won 93 league games against Everton – more than any one club has beaten another in English league history. Dominant.
pic.twitter.com/k56TEbjGg1
7.19pm GMT
Goodison Park has a new sign that just says Goodison on it. It’s simple and very effective. A similarly simple, effective approach tonight would be very welcome for Evertonians. Looking at the Everton XI, it has enough about it to do this. The midfield battle will be key. I expect McCarthy and Gueye will have to work their socks off to upset Arsenal’s rhythm.
7.10pm GMT
Ronald Koeman speaks: “I think it’s really important that we are a really good compact team tonight and in that way in my opinion this is the best XI to start. Gareth Barry is no longer the youngest player and we have a tough period coming up so he is rested.”
Arsène Wenger also says a few things
really quietly. From what I could tell he seemed to be saying that he has no qualms about Gabriel coming in to replace Shkodran Mustafi.
7.02pm GMT
A musical interlude: Story of the Blues.
6.57pm GMT
So no real surprises in the Arsenal starting XI but Ronald Koeman shuffles his pack, bringing back Enner Valencia, Phil Jagielka and Ross Barkley, whose job it will be to try to create for Lukaku. Valencia is often criticised but he may give Lukaku a bit more freedom just by being up there with him. Gareth Barry is rested, in case you’re wondering where he is.
6.47pm GMT
Everton: Stekelenburg, Coleman, Jagielka, Ashley Williams, Baines, McCarthy, Gueye, Barkley, Lennon, Lukaku, Valencia.
Subs: Robles, Deulofeu, Mirallas, Cleverley, Funes Mori, Calvert-Lewin, Holgate.
Arsenal: Cech, Bellerin, Gabriel, Koscielny, Monreal, Coquelin, Xhaka, Walcott, Ozil, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Sanchez.
Subs: Gibbs, Lucas Perez, Giroud, Ospina, Holding, Iwobi, Elneny.
12.09pm GMT
Evening. Having gone off like a train at the beginning of the season Everton’s wheels have come off in spectacular style in the past couple of months. Look, there they are rolling off down County Road. Be a good lad, Ross, and fetch them will you? One win in 10 games is relegation form.
Ronald Koeman appears to know what is going wrong but hasn’t found the right tools to fix it yet and, as Christmas approaches, frustrated Evertonians aren’t in the mood to extend goodwill to all men, least of all those underperforming in royal blue. So Arsenal, who haven’t lost in 14 games, aren’t the ideal visitors.
But, and here’s the thing, Koeman was on a similarly dreadful run at Southampton this time last year and turned it around with an incredibly savvy 4-0 home performance against … Arsenal. Now, I know he has a different team with a different set of problems to overcome at Everton, but he exudes authority and appears to be a methodical and calm problem solver. He just needs time – that most precious of commodities that seems so difficult to squeeze out of jumpy chairmen, fans and preposterous pundits and commentators these days. Koeman hasn’t been helped by a long-term injury to Yannick Bolasie either, the one player capable of creating something from nothing when his team-mates were running down blind alleys.
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Ronald Koeman seeks Everton answers before transfer window opens
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