Time to wrap this blog up, but be sure to join Rob Smyth for Spurs v Liverpool, which is kicking off now. Thanks for joining me. Cheerio!
If you don’t feel like clicking on that link, because it’s Sunday and all, how’s this for an opening paragraph? Yowza!
It was a lone voice but loud enough for Everton’s power-brokers, Farhad Moshiri and Bill Kenwright, to hear at the front of the directors’ box at Goodison Park. ‘Taxi for Koeman’ came the cry from one disgruntled Evertonian. Others around him laughed. Most others left. Arsenal then scored their fourth. And their fifth.
Here’s Andy Hunter’s match report:
Here’s Ronald Koeman:
“The final result is very disappointing. I need to say Arsenal were the better team, but at 1-2 we were OK. After Gana’s sending off, they had the quality to break us down. Jordan Pickford stopped a lot in the first half, but it was really difficult to keep them out, particularly after the red card.”
“I don’t know. I told the players I believe in them, but if you take everything in a negative way... we were 2-1 down until the red card. I feel like the players are working for me. We played nine games, the top five from last season, but this is not the position Everton should be in. But I don’t think it’s too late.”
That was a bit of a mess, with Koeman appearing to want credit for his team being only 2-1 behind before the sending off. Will he be in charge next week against Leicester? Time will tell.
Here’s Mesut Ozil: “We knew it would be difficult against Everton... we’re happy to win the game. In training [Sanchez, Lacazette and me] show our quality together – today, we played well and all three of us scored.”
Ozil is awarded man of the match – I think that late goal might have swung it for Sanchez myself, but the front three were a fearsome proposition.
Farhad Moshiri didn't look very annoyed given his team have conceded five at home and are now in the relegation zone
— Ed Aarons (@ed_aarons) October 22, 2017
Full time: Everton 2-5 Arsenal
After that frantic final few minutes, the outcome remains the same – Everton fell apart in the second half and are in the bottom three, while Arsenal are up to fifth, level with Chelsea, after making them pay with an excellent attacking performance.
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GOAL! Everton 2-5 Arsenal (Sanchez 94')
If Ronald Koeman was hoping to claw back some respectability, Alexis Sanchez has other ideas. He picks up the ball in the D and with Everton defenders afraid to go near him, he drifts further and further right – before slamming a shot inside the far post from a narrow angle. Magnificent.
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Oumar Niasse gets on the scoresheet, but he has Arsenal’s hapless defence to thank. Monreal underhits his back pass to Cech, allowing Niasse to pounce, getting a fortunate bounce off the keeper and rolling the ball in. He should really have got on his knees and headed it in, to complete the five-a-side feel...
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GOAL! Everton 2-4 Arsenal (Niasse 93')
Ha, this is a lot of fun.
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91 mins: Niasse wins a free kick on the edge of the area, which Sigurdsson lifts well over the bar. Five minutes added time, met by collective groans from the stands.
GOAL! Everton 1-4 Arsenal (Ramsey 90')
Everton’s misery is complete as Jack Wilshere spins and slides a through ball in to Aaron Ramsey, who takes a touch and tucks the ball beyond Pickford.
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89 mins: Icing on the cake time – Lacazette’s goal means that Everton drop into the bottom three on goal difference.
88 mins: Vlasic is unlucky to give the ball away in midfield, and Kolasinac cuts into the area, but steers his header wide.
86 mins: Koscielny picks up a booking to be filed under ‘needless’, standing on Niasse’s heel for no apparent reason.
85 mins: Everton have given up, and as the home defence watches on, Sanchez plays in Wilshere who skips round Pickford, but can’t pick out a team-mate with his cross I think at least a handful of Everton fans are
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84 mins: Xhaka rattles the bar! Without an option for a forward pass, he scuttles past Davies and cracks an effort off the crossbar from 25 yards. Ramsey battles with Pickford for the rebound, the keeper pawing the ball away.
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83 mins: Sanchez has a golden chance to make things even worse for Everton, but nods the ball wide from Bellerin’s cross.
82 mins: Arsenal substitution as the impressive Ozil is replaced by Francis Coquelin. Arsene is shutting up shop.
Up after this one, a second helping of Merseyside v North London fare, as Liverpool take on Spurs at Wembley. Rob Smyth is watching that one:
79 mins: Kudos to Tom Davies for not throwing in the towel, unlike the vast majority of his team-mates. He fires a shot at Petr Cech, then scampers back to deny Ozil at the other end.
“It’s a few years since I’ve been to a PTA but I don’t recall anyone chanting ‘You’re getting sacked in the morning’ at the head teacher,” says John Peters.
76 mins: Jack Wilshere is on, making his first Premier League appearance for Arsenal in 14 months. He replaces Lacazette, and is swiftly serenaded by the away fans.
74 mins: Two changes from Everton – Ademola Lookman replaces Rooney, and Calvert-Lewin goes off, a decision roundly booed by the home faithful. He’s replaced by Oumar Niasse.
GOAL! Everton 1-3 Arsenal (Lacazette 73')
Vlasic gives the ball away in midfield and Sanchez tears Everton asunder with a through ball on the half-turn. Ozil races onto it down the left and pulls it back to Lacazette, who cracks a first-time shot beyond Pickford.
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72 mins: Arsenal knock the ball around a while, before Everton win a free kick. Baines plays a long-distance one-two but miscues his cross, and Arsenal threaten to break. Lacazette can’t pick out Ramsey, but how long can Everton keep them out?
Red card! Idrissa Gueye is off for a second yellow!
A painful recreation of Everton’s best moment of the match, as Gueye steps in to try and take the ball from Xhaka – but he lunges in and stands on his opponent’s foot. It’s a second yellow card, and Gueye trudges off without complaint.
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67 mins: A couple of dangerous crosses, from Baines and then Vlasic on the opposite flank, go unrewarded, perhaps because Everton’s only striker is currently shaking off a kick to the face.
Not sure how much Ozil and Sanchez want to stay at Arsenal, but Everton spent £140m and are nowhere near that cross and run @niallmcveigh
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) October 22, 2017
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65 mins: Sigurdsson has a half-chance, but can’t steer his header on target from 12 yards out.
62 mins: Arsenal look to have found an extra gear that’s currently beyond their opponents. Ramsey, played onside by Jonjoe Kenny, scoots clear down the right but Davies gets back to block his cross.
61 mins: Calvert-Lewin has needed plenty of treatment, in the form of cotton wool stuffed up his nose, but should be OK to carry on.
59 mins: Calvert-Lewin is down after Monreal accidentally caught him with his boot. A chance for Everton to regroup.
57 mins: “Sacked in the morning” is the predictable chant from the away end. The atmosphere around the ground is weird – it sounds more like a tetchy PTA meeting than a football match.
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55 mins: Ramsey could have made things even more comfortable, picked out in acres of space 12 yards out, but thuds his shot high and wide.
Sanchez motored down the left and linked up with Lacazette, before whipping a cross in from the left flank with his right boot. Ozil got the run on a static Everton back line, and flicked the ball beyond Pickford.
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GOAL! Everton 1-2 Arsenal (Ozil 53')
Vlasic sees his shot blocked and Arsenal break, with that all-new AOL frontline combining for Mesut Ozil to head the visitors into the lead!
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52 mins: Everton fans are grumbling at a high volume after perceived fouls on Davies and Rooney aren’t penalised...
50 mins: ...Everton regroup, and Calvert-Lewin darts ahead of Kolasinac on the right, but his cut-back is cleared by Koscielny with Sigurdsson closing in.
49 mins: Everton fans turn their ire on Pawson as Koscielny goes unpunished for a high boot on Baines...
48 mins: Arsenal win a free kick 35 yards out, from which Sanchez blasts the ball into poor Nikola Vlasic’s solar plexus.
47 mins: Davies is caught by Lacazette, who has struggled to get in the game after that early miss. Sigurdsson has another chance to wang one in, but Michael Keane can only head over from an awkward angle.
Peep!
Tom Davies is on for Everton, replacing the booked Ashley Williams as Koeman switches to a back four.
@niallmcveigh did you know....Everton is derived from the Saxon eofor, meaning wild boar that lives in forests.
— Klariti Templates (@klaritidotcom) October 22, 2017
Even better, Arsenal comes from the Arabic word ‘dar-as-sina’, which means ‘house of industry’.
“A Wenger funk is amplified when deep down he must know he’s in the wrong,” writes Niall Mullen.
“Is Xhaka really the sort of player for the Arsenal defence to give the ball to when he’s under pressure? Clearly not. So why sign him if you want to play that way?”
To be fair, Xhaka always looked a good fit in that position at Monchengladbach – but it’s not suited him in the Premier League so far. Still, he redeemed himself with the shot that led to Monreal’s equaliser.
Some half-time viewing sent in by Alex Bellios, who is one half of Football School alongside Ben Lyttleton:
“It’s our YouTube channel for children, in which we explain the pressing football issues of the day.
Here we ask: who is the oldest player to have played in the Premier League?”
Half time: Everton 1-1 Arsenal
A lively old first half, and this game is perfectly poised at the break. Back in a mo.
46 mins: Sanchez is penalised for a high boot on Keane, and Sigurdsson will have a chance to whip one in from some 40 yards out. Calvert-Lewin climbs with Koscielny, who gets the last touch as it loops behind – but it’s a goal kick.
45 mins: Ozil has a go from 30 yards, but it’s a long way wide. Two added minutes.
43 mins: Pickford rescues Everton again, making himself big after Sanchez is played in by Ozil. Everton will be keen to hear the half-time whistle...
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42 mins: Monreal is furious with Calvert-Lewin after a shove sends the Arsenal defender into the front row of the crowd. Calvert-Lewin lucky not to become the third name in Pawson’s book.
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41 mins: Baines dallies in defence and is almost dispossessed by Bellerin. Keane is on hand to bail him out with a hoofed clearance.
40 mins: Suddenly, it’s as if the last half-hour hasn’t happened, with Arsenal tearing forward and Bellerin shooting wide when crossing looked the better option. Replays show that Xhaka’s shot took a deflection, wrongfooting Pickford who pushed the ball back into danger.
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GOAL! Everton 1-1 Arsenal (Monreal 39')
Arsenal had begun to turn the screw on Everton and after Sanchez’s shot is blocked, Xhaka fires low from distance. Pickford parries it but Nacho Monreal, lurking in the area, follows up, blasting the ball inside the near post!
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37 mins: After a Pickford clearance swirls in the wind, Arsenal regain possession and Ramsey makes a run into the box – but Sanchez opts to lift rather than slot his pass, and Pickford collects, much to Ramsey’s chagrin.
35 mins: Sanchez, being booed by the home fans for a dive that wasn’t, finds Lacazette, who has been let off the hook. His cross drifts out for a goal kick as the wind picks up.
33 mins: Gueye has been excellent, but has too much to do in front of the back three, and catches Sanchez 30 yards from goal. He’s booked, and will face a long final hour at this rate.
Two wrongs from Pawson making a right, there – if he thought Williams had fouled Lacazette, it should have been another booking, given their positions.
30 mins: Rooney’s pass from the centre circle rebounds towards Lacazette, who goes over with Williams in close proximity! Craig Pawson blows up for the free kick, and Williams has already been booked – but replays show it was a pretty shameful dive from the Arsenal striker.
29 mins: After a patient spell of possession, Sanchez steps infield and has space to shoot – instead, he rolls the ball wide to Bellerin, whose cross is collected by Pickford.
27 mins: Vlasic dances around a couple of challenges and almost picks out Calvert-Lewin with a through ball. Koeman could do with getting the lone striker some support – Arsenal are firmly on the back foot.
26 mins: Mertesacker had kept Calvert-Lewin quiet but gets the run on him from a Rooney cross. His header towards the back post drifts several feet wide.
24 mins: Bellerin gets wound up and dives into a challenge on Gueye. Free kick, and he’s lucky not to get a booking. Sigurdsson takes the free kick, but his delivery towards Rooney is dealt with.
23 mins: Guess what? That Ramsey/Xhaka double pivot in midfield looks a bit flimsy, Gueye again intervening to start a counter-attack. Vlasic runs onto a diagonal long ball and lifts a cross towards Calvert-Lewin, but Mertesacker is on hand to head it away.
22 mins: A lovely touch from Sigurdsson finds Rooney on the right, and his cross is steered towards Baines at the far post – but Bellerin is on hand to block.
20 mins: Gueye does well as Arsenal press forward, harrying Ozil and winning a cheap free kick. The tempo has dropped a touch after a frantic first 20 minutes.
18 mins: Lacazette takes on Williams as he cuts in from the right, and the Everton defender does well not to dive in, or start a fight, instead deflecting the striker’s shot into the side-netting. Another Arsenal corner, and another that comes to nothing.
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@niallmcveigh That's deja-ru!
— John Traynor (@Mr_JDTraynor) October 22, 2017
16 mins: Ashley Williams is booked for stopping a counter-attack in the agricultural style, and Arsenal have a free kick 30 yards out. Sanchez shoots and Pickford is behind it – but spills the ball and has to race out to gather it!
14 mins: Now it’s Cech’s turn to dawdle, and he’s caught by Calvert-Lewin – the ball could rebound anywhere, but squirts away from goal! Yeesh.
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Arsene Wenger is in a funk, arguing with the official that Gueye fouled Xhaka. Replays show a little contact from the Everton man, but Xhaka was dawdling and got what was coming to him.
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Remember the name, Wayne Rooney.
Xhaka hands Everton an opening, stumbling and allowing Gueye to nick the ball 25 yards from goal. It runs through to Rooney who shuffles, takes aim with his right foot and curls an unstoppable shot into the top corner!
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GOAL! Everton 1-0 Arsenal (Rooney 12')
And then of course, this happens.
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9 mins: The best chance yet falls to Lacazette, after Everton are pulled apart once again! Ozil sidefoots to Bellerin, who puts Ramsey in behind again. His cut back finds Lacazette who turns but fires at Pickford from six yards! The keeper was out quickly, but Lacazette had to score.
@niallmcveigh do you get tea if you’re not a fan? A biscuit if you say you like rugby league? Or is there a teadal wave of outrage there??
— Rory T (@RoryThorp) October 22, 2017
Based on the early evidence, trouble could be brewing for Everton. Sorry.
7 mins: Sanchez again in the thick of it, sliding a pass to Lacazette who fires a shot from an impossible angle. It has enough power to force Pickford to turn it behind, and from the corner, Ozil is offside.
6 mins: Rooney is indeed playing deeper, but not alongside Gueye, who is left to marshal central midfield by himself with Rooney and Sigurdsson (sort of) buzzing ahead of him. Rooney tries to thread a pass to Calvert-Lewin, but it’s overhit.
4 mins: Sanchez looks up for this, again cutting a swathe through the Everton defence and forcing Pickford off his line, before Williams bundles the ball behind. Everton deal with the corner, just about.
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2 mins: Everton are sliced open, Sanchez cutting in from the left and finding Ozil, whose first time pass puts Ramsey in on goal. He tries to curl his shot inside the far corner, but Pickford gets a fingertip to it!
1 min: Baines whips in a cross that’s cleared away, before Gueye wins the ball back and hits a hopeful long ball towards Calvert-Lewin that runs through to Cech.
Peep!
Arsenal, wearing their black away kit for some reason, kick off to a throaty roar from the home crowd.
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Kick-off is moments away, the teams are out and hands are being shaken vigorously.
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@niallmcveigh I'm at Goodison, where The Fear is pervasive. And that's just at the price of a cup of tea at the bars.
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) October 22, 2017
It gets worse, Gary – outside the ground, there’s no tea at all! That’s not going to help the home fans’ collective mood...
Speaking of Rooney, here’s some pre-match reading:
Everton’s nifty Twitter team-sheet has Vlasic in midfield, but on their big touchscreen at Wembley, Jamie Redknapp and Thierry Henry have slotted Wayne Rooney in alongside Idrissa Gueye. That could be... interesting.
So, Wayne Rooney starts up front as Mason Holgate and Morgan Schneiderlin drop out of the team that drew at Brighton. Nikola Vlasic is preferred in midfield to Davy Klassen or Tom Davies, who are both on the bench.
Arsène Wenger brings out the big guns, with Mesut Özil replacing Alex Iwobi in the front three. He starts alongside Alexis Sánchez and Alexandre Lacazette as the AOL front three is finally unleashed. Jack Wilshere, impressive in the Europa League, is among the substitutes.
Team news
Everton (3-5-2): Pickford; Keane, Jagielka, Williams; Kenny, Gueye, Sigurdsson, Vlasic, Baines; Rooney, Calvert-Lewin.
Subs: Robles, Mirallas, Martina, Klaassen, Davies, Lookman, Niasse.
Arsenal (3-4-3): Cech; Koscielny, Mertesacker, Monreal; Bellerín, Ramsey, Xhaka, Kolasinac; Özil, Sánchez, Lacazette.
Subs: Macey, Wilshere, Giroud, Walcott, Holding, Iwobi, Coquelin.
Referee: Craig Pawson.
Preamble
Both managers arrive here under pressure but if you think Arsène Wenger looks ruffled, you should see the other guy. During Thursday’s grim defeat to Lyon, Ronald Koeman looked every inch a manager on the edge – dishevelled, raging at the officials and his own players as he fumed under a cartoon cloud of drizzle.
Barely two months since he was widely tipped to steer Everton towards the top four, Koeman faces the very real prospect of dropping into the bottom three, and potentially being bundled out of a back door at Goodison Park, with defeat here today. If that seems premature, the Dutchman hasn’t helped himself, with his expensivey refurbished side stodgy going forward and dodgy at the back.
By contrast Wenger, who has a season ticket for this particular rodeo, had largely muddled along under the radar before Arsenal’s late capitulation to Watford last weekend. Last season, Koeman kickstarted Everton’s campaign with a similar comeback victory over Arsenal – do so again and he can pass the pressure on to his opposite number, who can at least be expected to handle it better.
Arsenal come here as favourites but, well, we’ve heard that one before. Whatever the result today, the volume will be turned up in boardrooms and fan forums for one of these coaches. Kick-off is at 1.30pm British Summer Time, and the heat is on.
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