Everton 2-1 Arsenal: 5 talking points as Demarai Gray stunner downs Gunners | Premier League 2021-22
Everton beat Arsenal 2-1 at Goodison Park in a thrilling Premier League game on Monday night.
Demarai Gray struck an amazing goal in the 92nd minute to win it for The Toffees after Richarlison had cancelled out Martin Odegaard's first-half opener. The Gunners had more possession, and mustered more shots, but failed to make their dominance count on the night.
The Toffees, hit by two VAR calls in the game, showed immense fighting spirit as they ended their eight-game winless run in the league. In the process, they registered three consecutive Premier League wins over Arsenal for the first time.
Everton have won three consecutive Premier League games against Arsenal for the first time in the competition's history:
◉ (H) 2-1
◉ (A) 0-1
◉ (H) 2-1
Rafa carries on where Carlo left off. 🤝 https://t.co/P2LvRkYW30
Following consecutive defeats, Arsenal are now seventh in the standings, falling behind Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United once again. Meanwhile, Everton are up to 12th.
On that note, here are the five major talking points from the game:
#5 Everton are mentality monsters
Everton have been far from impressive so far this season. They are languishing in 12th place in the league table, with just five wins from 15 games.
However, there have been moments where The Toffees have stunned everyone, such as fighting back from a deficit to clinch all three points. In fact, they've won ten points in the league from losing positions so far, more than any other team in the English top flight this season.
10 - Everton have won 10 points from losing positions in the Premier League this season, more than any other side in 2021-22. This makes up 56% of their overall total (10/18). Resilience. https://t.co/MGEM4srGPR
It was the third time Everton fell behind only to eventually win. They also managed to do so against Southampton and Burnley, and held Manchester United to a draw.
It shows that on their day the Merseyside outfit can be tough to beat, but it's their lack of consistency that explains their struggles and lowly ranking.
#4 Mikel Arteta makes head-scratching calls for Arsenal
Arsenal once again lacked the aura that saw them turn their fortunes around after an underwhelming start to the season. However, head coach Mikel Arteta also contributed to the result with some poor calls.
Kieran Tierney had an excellent game, but he was taken off after the hour mark. Meanwhile, Gabriel Martinelli was replaced by Eddie Nketiah despite having both Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Nicolas Pepe on the bench.
Moreover, the Gabonese striker was subbed on as late as the 85th minute, when the scoreline was 1-1. It makes one wonder why he wasn't brought on earlier when the Gunners led on the night.