Today’s game is against Everton, and everyone knows we don’t have a fantastic record there. We haven’t beaten them since 2017, which is remarkable given how good we are when we play them at home.
Mikel Arteta was asked by Sky how he rated Arsenal’s season thus far, and he believes we should have 12 points rather than 10. He said, as he always does, that there are things to improve, things to do better, and he said:
The margins have been too narrow, and that is perhaps what we need to improve on in order to end games sooner. We have already demonstrated our dominance… Be more brutal.
That, I believe, is especially true of my recent excursions to Goodison Park. Last season, Martin Odegaard had a good chance, not a sitter, but a decent sight of goal, which he missed. Everton scored the game’s sole goal very immediately. The previous season, Eddie Nketiah had a chance to put us ahead before falling victim to Demarai Gray’s superb winner. In that 2-1 game, I believe we had a late chance to equalize, but Aubameyang missed. Margins.
It’s about time we won away at Everton, and to be fair, we’ve recently overturned some awful records. So it will be interesting to see who is on the team today. Part of me wonders if Takehiro Tomiyasu is the ideal choice for left-back in an away game like this, but if we’re going to go there and take the game to them, it’ll most likely be Oleksandr Zinchenko in a back four unchanged from Manchester United.
With Declan Rice, Kai Havertz, and Martin Odegaard in midfield, I don’t see any changes. Obviously, it would be a great day for the German international to make a real impact, whether with a goal or an assist, but contributing to an Arsenal victory would suffice as a baseline. A goal contribution of some sort, on the other hand, would undoubtedly relieve some of the burden on him.
Then there’s the decision on how to attack. If Gabriel Jesus is declared ready to begin, I’d go with him. I believe he adds value to the team. “He changed our world,” Arteta remarked after his arrival from Manchester City on Friday. He’s not quite back to full strength after a major injury last season and minor surgery this time around, but with a North London derby on the horizon, he’ll be essential. So it makes sense to play him today, get those minutes in his legs, then play him again in midweek against PSV in the Champions League, which feels a lot more like an Eddie game than either this or the derby.
Everton have new guy Beto to cause difficulties for our defense, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin is back, so they are not without a threat despite their league position. It’s early in the season, and I don’t believe it’s an accurate representation of what they’re capable of. Mikel Arteta is unlikely to let his players take anything for granted today, especially given how we’ve struggled for points there. I’m sure those games felt a little more personal for him because of his relationship with Everton, and he’ll be anxious to break that record tonight.
So, let’s hope that the lessons from last season, and the season before that, and the season before that, have been learnt – but also that if one of their players stands in the face of one of the hours, the appropriate penalty is meted out. It’ll be difficult, but that should come as no surprise.
We’ll have live blog coverage as well as post-game coverage on Arseblog News.
About The Author
Leave a Reply