{"id":342,"date":"2020-02-24T17:30:28","date_gmt":"2020-02-24T17:30:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.arsenaltalk.co.uk\/goonerholics\/?p=342"},"modified":"2020-02-24T17:30:28","modified_gmt":"2020-02-24T17:30:28","slug":"spirit-beats-toffees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/?p=342","title":{"rendered":"Arsenal run through treacle to beat the Toffees"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On Sunday morning Arsenal sat in 11th<\/sup>\nplace, one point below the visitors who, as Scruz reminded us, have failed to win\nat our place for 24 years. This felt like another must-win game because a\nrevitalised Everton are a rival for a European spot with the added piquance of being\nMikel Arteta\u2019s former club and their new coach, Carlo Ancelotti, being some\npeople\u2019s favourite for our vacancy in December (not least himself). There was the\nfurther incentive of a win taking us 3 points closer to the 5th<\/sup>\nplaced Marshdwellers. Would our third game in seven days have any effect\nagainst opponents who had the luxury of fourteen days rest?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mikel\u2019s team selection predictably rang changes from Thursday\u2019s selection with the return of Bellerin, Kolasinac, Ceballos, \u00d6zil and Nketiah. Kolasinac was the only change from the 11 who had started against the Magpies. Saka, though replete with the vigour of youth had earned a rest on the bench. Mikel was clearly hoping the midfield of Xhaka, Ceballos and \u00d6zil could reproduce the silkiness and dominance it displayed against the Magpies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A fine late lunch with Bath Jnr at the\nusual place preceded a hopeful pilgrimage to the Clock End Upper where we sat\nin Row 7 directly above the goal. Unusually for us, we got there some 20\nminutes before kick-off and watched the Arsenal warm up with interest as the\nchosen outfield plus Torreira worked with a ball in two teams of right-sided\nplayers vs left-sided players with Nketiah, Ceballos and Torreira joining\nwhichever \u2018side\u2019 had the ball. Mustafi stood out (like a new signing) with his\nnew silver rinse. After this, the two centre backs practiced long balls to each\nother while the other outfield players pinged balls around the edge of the\npenalty area culminating in shots on goal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of late, we have become accustomed to slow starts and even to becoming \u2018a second-half team\u2019 but people were still shuffling in when we found ourselves behind after 49 seconds. A very soft free kick was given for an innocuous looking challenge by Ceballos halfway inside our own half which saw Richarlison fall as if shot. The ball was launched high into our box. Luiz\u2019s shoulder looped it goalwards and Calvert-Lewin\u2019s overhead kick landed in the net with his boot brushing Luiz\u2019s head. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

0-1 Everton, 1 minute.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wondered if that goal would have been disallowed for dangerous play had we scored that, especially away from home. Another factor was Kolasinac allowing himself to be pushed backwards by Mina to keep the Everton forwards onside as the free-kick was taken. Much later they unsuccessfully tried that ploy again with Ceballos who wasn\u2019t having it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In the Emery era, an early set back was generally\nfollowed by a spell of defensive jitters and midfield incompetence and\nsometimes by total collapse. No longer. The crowd were vocal as we proceeded to\nretain possession despite the Everton press and we probed relentlessly forward.\nThose slick passes around the box during warm up were coming into play leading to\na Bellerin shot after 5 minutes from just inside the box but the excellent\nopportunity flew over. Immediately afterwards, regaining possession in our\nhalf, Ceballos put a forward ball through the Everton defence for Aubameyang to\nrun onto but he was tackled by Sidibe as he went to square to the onrushing\nNketiah. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heads certainly hadn\u2019t dropped and a brace of corners followed but Everton showed their new-found confidence with a rapid counter-attack ending in an Iwobi drive high and wide. The pacy Everton forwards were proving a threat as Mustafi had to make a careful challenge on Calvert-Lewin in the box after a simple ball over the top of our defence from their goalkeeper. In the main, however, our forwards\u2019 pressing troubled the Everton defenders and our midfield screened our defence effectively while our forwards worked hard at their defensive duties when Everton had possession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fate played another card on 15 minutes when\nKolasinac had to leave the pitch in shock, with his right arm in a sling after\na mid-air collision with Sidibe. Clavicle fracture or shoulder dislocation?\nTime will tell. Saka left the bench to fill in at left back again. Again, heads\ndidn\u2019t drop. Our defence dealt with Everton\u2019s press well, playing out generally\nto Ceballos who made forward balls to \u00d6zil in space or directly to a forward\ndespite the attentions of the opposition. \u00d6zil was drifting across the field\nfinding space and providing probing balls to the attackers yet it was largely possession\nwithout penetration until Nketiah fired over from a tight angle. Shortly\nafterwards at 25 minutes a move involving 10 players from our goal kick saw Pepe\nhit the target from 12 yards but his shot was gathered easily by Pickford. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The breakthrough came when a beautiful cross from Saka on the left touchline with Iwobi in close attendance was curled into the centre of the goal for Eddie Nketiah to steer past a statuesque Pickford. A goal that reminded me of Ian Wright and reminded True Storey of Thierry Henry. Eddie\u2019s first PL goal at the Emirates. If Eddie can match either of those strikers long-term, we will be in clover. It was Saka\u2019s 10th<\/sup> assist of the season. Clover indeed! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

1-1, 26 minutes.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seconds later Everton were in panic mode as\n\u00d6zil burst into the box but the ball was cleared for a corner. A resultant\nRicharlison break away was well managed by the Arsenal defence. Schneiderlin\nwas then booked for pulling Eddie back on the halfway line. We were looking the\nbetter team both with and without the ball, Ceballos playing a lynch-pin role\nin the centre of midfield. A pass by Luiz down the inside left channel from inside\nour half through Everton\u2019s high back-line for Aubameyang to run onto mirrored\nthe earlier one by Ceballos. This time PEA14 left the defenders for dead and\ncurled the ball past Pickford into the far corner. Eddie was in attendance for\na square ball. There was no question of that nor of it being missed. Reminiscent\nof TH14. Cue somersault from PEA14 and wild celebrations in the stands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2-1 Arsenal, 32 minutes.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I felt that we would push on from here as\nwe pinged the ball around their box and pressed them to regain possession in\ntheir half. Everton looked rattled for a while. Once they regained composure,\nour defence dealt competently with their forays. Aubameyang and Pepe were\ndrawing the Everton fullbacks infield giving space for our fullbacks to drive\nforward and pulling the Everton wide men into defensive positions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Richarlison seemed lucky to stay on the\npitch in the first of five added minutes after he lunged through Ceballos\u2019\nstanding leg and put his forehead in the face of the remonstrating Bellerin but\njust a yellow card was waved after VAR discussion – probably correct. A rare\ncorner for Everton in the 4th<\/sup> added minute led to an undeserved\nequaliser for the Brazilian bruiser. Baines\u2019 corner was headed clear to the\nedge of the box to the waiting Siggurdson whose mishit shot looping back into\nthe box was headed on by Mina and an aggressive looking lunge by Richarlison\npoked the ball under the hapless Leno.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HT 2-2<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A sense of injustice at the half-time break\nwas swiftly rectified. Just twenty-three seconds into the second half\nAubameyang headed Pepe\u2019s sweet curving cross from the right into the net from the\npenalty spot after our high press regained possession in the opposition half.\nPEA14\u2019s tenth brace. Would today bring his first hat-trick?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3-2 Arsenal, 46 minutes.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once again, I expected us to push on and seal the three points as we began again to press their defenders persistently, regain possession swiftly, stroke the ball around the pitch and probe for openings with Xhaka acting as a quarter-back pivoting the attack between right and left with some elegant long passes.  As ever we were vulnerable to breakaways and Ceballos made one of many key defensive contributions stopping Richarlison\u2019s breakaway at speed. Coming up to the hour mark, a ball across goal from Richarlison on the left was just missed by a sliding Calvert-Lewin due to the attentions of David Luiz. Ancelotti then substituted Gomes for Schneiderlin and Bernard for Iwobi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saka then had a crazy five minutes showing\nhis inexperience by losing possession on a dribble out from deep, giving\nCalvert-Lewin a low shot from inside our box that Leno saved well. Two minutes\nlater Saka did exactly the same thing again that fortunately was snuffed out by\nLuiz. Then mid-attack, he launched a pass from wide left, well inside the\nEverton half to Richarlison on the halfway line on the other side. Mustafi cut\nout the cross to Calvert-Lewin and the attack ended with a wild shot from\nSigurdsson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether this lifted Everton, or their subs\nhad an impact, or the Arsenal legs \u2018hit the wall\u2019 is hard to tell, but the\nmatch began to change from 66 minutes. Everton pressed higher and we seemed to\nlose momentum bar a promising breakaway that ended with Pepe offside. In the\nlast twenty minutes it began to feel that we were hanging on. Saka added to his\nearlier errors by collapsing in a heap as he approached halfway with the ball,\nlosing possession and requiring a superb point-blank save from Leno as\nBernard\u2019s cross was headed down to Calvert-Lewin for a shot from five yards,\nXhaka keeping him onside. Sigurdsson was then yellow-carded for a foul on\nCeballos as he drove out of defence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One sensed that fresh legs were required as\nwe began to lose midfield dominance and fluidity. Nonetheless we still had\nbullets (unlike the mob up the road apparently). Ceballos curled a shot past\nthe far post after a nice dribble into their box by \u00d6zil. He was replaced\nimmediately thereafter by Torreira. Another close range save was required from\nLeno after Richarlison took possession of a Delph shot on the edge of the\n6-yard box. The hardworking Aubameyang made the final clearance from the feet\nof Bernard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With 12 minutes to go, the tightness of\nthose muscles and the accumulating lactic acid was evident as we began to walk\naround with the ball and make short passes. The opposition sensed their\nadvantage and yet another Richarlison ball from the left flashed past\nCalvert-Lewin and across the goal. Just watching from the stands, you could\nfeel the exhaustion in Arsenal legs as they tried to continue the press or\nsimply make up ground. Going for the equaliser, Ancelotti brought on Kean for\nDelph. We brought on Guendouzi for \u00d6zil to get some fresh legs. Mesut was given\nwarm applause while Mikel Arteta encouraged his exhausted players to make one\nlast effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We sat deep and hoofed the ball forward\ninto space while our knackered forward-line watched it fly over their heads and\nprepared for the next Everton attack. The crowd sensed that the team needed\nhelp and cranked up the volume. Surprisingly our forwards summoned up the energy\nfor a concerted press that regained possession from Sigurdsson at the edge of their\nbox and Nketiah hit the bar in the 86th<\/sup> minute. If only that had\ngone in the final minutes would have been somewhat less enervating! Guendouzi\nwon a few minutes relief in the corner by getting hacked down by Richarlison.\nEverton came forward again with a long ball from Gomes towards Richarlison that\nBellerin couldn\u2019t cut out. Leno sprinted 24 yards to hook the ball away from\nRicharlison\u2019s feet. A minute later Leno was down injured after catching a\ncross, probably from the earlier tackle. It bought a welcome bit of rest for\neveryone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Could we hold out for five added minutes?\nEddie immediately went to a corner with the ball demonstrating our lack of\ncreative energy. We then sat deep and challenged Everton to show what they\ncould do. From a corner, an unchallenged Calvert-Lewin headed a Bernard cross\ninches wide. Seconds later the same player leapt high to meet a Richarlison\ncross but his effort was headed clear by Mustafi to Aubameyang who was\nunceremoniously knocked over by Gomes. A fourth card for Everton. You could\nsense the relief coursing through the Arsenal players for those extra moments of\nrest in the penultimate minute. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

FT 3-2 Arsenal<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This game saw a superb effort by the whole\nteam with special mentions for Leno, Mustafi, Ceballos, Nketiah and Aubameyang\nand credit to Saka, Luiz and Pepe for their assists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sweet Caroline rang out. So good! So good!\nSo good!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No Emery team could have achieved that\nresult. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his post-match interview Mikel said, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe best thing is the spirit that we showed. That\u2019s coming back from Europe, three games in seven days, concede a goal in the first minute – the way we reacted, the way we played for 60-65 minutes. It\u2019s exactly what I want from my team. And again, the resilience that some of the players showed when they were absolutely knackered and they kept going and going and going and it\u2019s exactly what I want.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Arsenal are the only team in a European\nmajor league still unbeaten in any competition in 2020!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Sunday morning Arsenal sat in 11th place, one point below the visitors who, as Scruz reminded us, have failed to win at our place for 24 years. This felt like another must-win game because a revitalised Everton are a rival for a European spot with the added piquance of being Mikel Arteta\u2019s former club […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=342"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.goonerholicsforever.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}