Match Review: Arsenal 1 Everton 1 - Premier League 8.12.13

Mixed feelings abound after Sunday’s clash with the blue half of Merseyside. Arsenal had the chance to go seven points clear at the top of the table, following City’s draw with Southampton and Chelsea’s surprise defeat at Stoke. However, we had to settle for a five point lead as we were held by a determined Everton side, which means that we’ll probably need to get positive results against Man City and Chelsea to stay top in going into the New Year. It’s a pity, as we could have had breathing space going into a tough few games, but at the same time, a point against a formidable Everton side is not to be sniffed at (David Moyes will tell you that for nothing).

Arsenal started, by this season’s standards, appallingly. Everton came at us with pace and ferocity and simply ran the midfield. The usually impeccable pairing of Arteta and Ramsey looked lethargic and they were either out of position because of their own poor movement or because the Everton midfield/attack dragged them out.

Something that happened a lot in the first half was Oviedo being able to bomb forward without fear and Jenkinson being left with both Pienaar and the Everton left back to cover. With our two ‘wide’ attackers constantly coming inside and switching positions, Oviedo was often able to get well forward without much to worry about behind him.

With Pienaar often advanced too, it meant one of Ramsey or Arteta was having to cover out wide, dragging the midfield over to one side and creating space in the middle. Gareth Barry and James McCarthy were taking advantage of this space, but neither did it as effectively as Ross Barkley. Barkley had a truly inspired game and thrived with the amount of space he was able to find. He was constantly driving through the midfield with pace and power, combined with the skill to be able to avoid tackles at the last moment. The England man was truly scary at times and it took some desperate work to stop him at points.

For all the possession Everton enjoyed though, they didn’t create many openings of note. In fact, it was Arsenal that created the best chances. Both Ramsey and Giroud were put through, only to have their efforts smothered by very good saves from Tim Howard. We looked most dangerous on the counter attacking, using the space that Everton left when they committed men forward.

We fashioned a few half chances beside the Ramsey and Giroud ones, but it was with about five minutes left in the first half that the game sparked into life. Wilshere was fouled inside the Everton half and from then on, the tackles started to fly in and Arsenal knocked on the door hard. We suddenly had Everton pinned back and we gave it everything, with the crowd backing the team noisily, sensing an opportunity. Alas, it came to nothing, but Arsenal went into the break with the momentum.

Things were a lot more even in the second half. Everton definitely had the better of the first half, but after the late pressure we put them under, the performance visibly upped from the Gunners. The midfield had a bit more organisation and fight about them and Everton were still struggling to create, despite being comfortable in possession. This was down in no small part to Koscielny adding Lukaku to the collection of Premiership and European strikers in his pocket. He was clearly under orders to give Lukaku hell and the Frenchman duly harried, intercepted and bullied a guy who has often done the same to defenders this season. Koscielny didn’t give him a sniff and he wasn’t able to hold the ball up or be a focal point for attacks.

On the attacking front, it was nip and tuck. Cazorla was just unable to convert Wilshere’s cut back, while Pienaar had an effort saved well by Szczesny. Wenger made the unusual move of making all three substitutions at once. Rosicky, Flamini and Walcott replaced Ramsey, Wilshere and Cazorla. It nearly paid off straight away, Walcott keeping the ball alive and getting it back for Flamini to volley just wide. We didn’t have to wait long to take the lead though.

Rosicky crossed the ball in from the right and surprisingly, Theo Walcott won a header at the back post and got it back across goal. Giroud looked like he had a mere tap in, but somehow contrived to miss the ball 2 yards out. Fortunately for him, Mesut Özil, who had been having a very good game, was on hand to guide it into the roof of the net. The stadium went nuts, songs rang around the ground with gusto. With 10 minutes left on the clock, surely we’d see it out? We have the meanest defence in the country and over the last year we’ve ground out countless 1-0 victories. So of course, this time we conceded four minutes after taking the lead.

With Flamini on to organise the defence and Mertesacker and Koscielny in such imperious form, I expected us to see it out. We’ve made a habit of holding onto leads doggedly over the last year, so for us to lose one with only 6 minutes to go left a bitter taste. A cross came in from the left and after Lukaku had attempted a ridiculous overhead kick, which he failed to connect with, the ball fell to substitute Deulofeu. The on-loan Barça man knocked the ball onto his right foot and smashed into the far corner. The Emirates was stunned into silence (insert hilarious joke about Arsenal’s home support here) and the buzz of Özil’s goal evaporated.

The last six minutes were hectic. Both sides had good chances and attacks, with Szczesny having to rush out and stop Lukaku after Arteta nearly gave his former club an early christmas present. But in the 94th minute, we nearly witnessed one of the great goals at the Emirates, maybe in our history. A cross into the Everton box was cleared and Giroud managed to first flick the ball onto his left foot and then unleashed a stunning volley towards the top corner from fully 30-35 yards. It almost seemed to fly in slow motion and there was a hush around the ground as the ball sailed towards the target. Tim Howard was beaten, glory beckoned…but the ball smashed into the woodwork and clear. Giroud sank to his knees in disbelief, inches from what would have surely been goal of the season. The fans cried out in anguish as ball bounced clear and not long after the final whistle rang out.

1-1 was a fair result, there’s no doubt about it. If not for the Herculean efforts of Mertesacker and Koscielny, we could have been in deep trouble in the first half. If we’d have brought our best game, I think we’d have won, but the poor start made it a real struggle and even though it’s still a pretty good result, I can’t help but feel a bit gutted, particularly after scoring so late and seeing Giroud’s late effort fail in such agonising fashion.

Napoli awaits in midweek, where we could clinch top spot in the group or end up in the Europa League. Man City follows on Saturday and after a break of nine days, we face Chelsea at the Emirates in our last home game of the year. Sunday also brought news of the FA Cup draw and in typical fashion, Arsenal have been handed a tricky tie at home against Sp*rs. Our cup runneth over.

Stat of the game

Laurent Koscielny made 8 successful interceptions, 9 clearances and 6 out of 6 attempted headed clearances. (via Stat Zone)

Teams

Arsenal (4-2-3-1)
Szczesny, Jenkinson, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs, Arteta, Ramsey (Flamini 68′), Wilshere (Rosicky 68′), Özil, Cazorla (Walcott 68′),Giroud
Subs
Fabianski, Monreal, Vermaelen, Walcott, Flamini, Rosicky, Bendtner

Everton (4-2-3-1)
Howard ?, Coleman, Oviedo, Barry ?, Jagielka, Distin, Mirallas (Deulofeu 79′ ?), McCarthy ?, Lukaku, Barkley (Naismith 93′), Pienaar (Osman 71′)
Subs
Robles, Heitinga, Jelavic, Deulofeu, Naismith, Osman, Stones

Player Ratings

Szczesny – 7/10 – It would be harsh to criticise him for the goal, solid otherwise
Jenkinson – 7/10 – Another impressive performance against very tough opposition
Mertesacker – 8/10 – The stats say everything about the Kos-Mert partnership
Koscielny – 9/10 – One of the finest performances I’ve seen from him, superb
Gibbs – 7/10 – Also had a difficult job and I don’t think he could do much to stop the goal
Arteta – 6/10 – A slightly worrying performance, seemed a bit lost
Ramsey – 6/10 – Along with Arteta, lost the midfield battle and his passing was way off
Wilshere – 6/10 – Another one that struggled and often left the team exposed at the back
Özil – 8/10 – Had to do too much tracking back, but was majestic going forward
Cazorla – 6/10 – Still labouring to find form this season and didn’t find it in this game
Giroud – 6/10 – Didn’t get much service, but still could have done better
Subs
Walcott – 7/10 – Grabbed another assist and is hopefully nearly ready to start
Rosicky – 7/10 – Such a great player to be able to bring on
Flamini – 7/10 – May well have a claim to start ahead of Arteta against City and Chelsea