Perhaps it was the famous “new manager bounce,” but regardless of what one wants to chalk it up to, the bottom line is Everton managed to pull off the upset as the Toffees beat Arsenal 1-0 at Goodison Park.
The lone goal came courtesy of James Tarkowski who scored with a header from a corner. Tarkowski easily shook off the mark of Martin Odegaard to score the winner and give Everton a much-needed win and three points.
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Arsenal didn’t look like their usual selves and were unable to create many scoring opportunities. Particularly in the first half, Everton pressed Arsenal and put plenty of pressure on the Gunners to limit their ability to play from the back.
Everton, on the other hand, were able to get at the Arsenal defense and could have easily been up a goal at the break.
The question heading into halftime is whether or not Everton could maintain the level they showed in the opening 45 minutes.
The answer to that question was “yes.”
Up until the Everton goal, Arsenal’s attack looked more purposeful and tried to create more in the final third. But again, Everton limited them to only half-chances and it was more of the same after the goal.
Mikel Arteta brought on the likes of Leandro Trossard and Jorginho to try to turn things in their favor but Everton did well to limit Trossard’s influence on the match.
The frustration for Arsenal stemmed over in the fifth minute of added time as Oleksandr Zinchenko brought down Neal Maupay after the latter kicked out somewhat at the left-back.
It was a big win for Everton and their new manager Sean Dyche. They’ll be able to breathe easier for at least a week in their fight to avoid relegation.
As for Arsenal, it was an unexpected defeat given where both teams are in the Premier League table. While they still have a five point lead over Manchester City, it could be cut down to just two if Pep Guardiola’s side manage to beat Tottenham on Sunday.