Everton visit the Emirates tonight in what would be a crucial encounter for Mikel Arteta and his men in the Premier League. Arsenal know that a victory against a team that defeated them recently will send them five points clear at the top, which will give the Gunners some breathing space from their title challengers, Manchester City.
Mikel Arteta has taken stock from the last time he locked horns with Everton and his pre-match press conference, he touched on it
“It’s a case of doing things better than we did when we played them a few weeks ago and earning the right to win the game. Obviously with Sean it’s quite clear what he’s done and where the success they’ve had is coming from.
We have to look at certain matches, what they do and try to get the right tactics to beat them – and as well the same mentality and expectation of what we demand in the game.”
The manager also spoke of his delight to have options to rotate, which brings me to one of my leading topics of today’s post – should Arteta retain Leandro Trossard as the center forward in tonight’s game against Everton? The Belgian maverick started ahead of Eddie Nketiah in the 1-0 narrow win over Leicester, and it’s fair to say that he was one of the best attackers for the Gunners on the day. In the 70 minutes he featured at the King Power Stadium, Trossard made 20 accurate passes out of 25, which included the assist to the eventual match winner, Gabriel Martinelli. He also had two shots on target, with one smashing the back of the net, but an infringement spotted by VAR stopped Trossard from having a well deserved goal.
Nketiah has worked very hard and earned his spot in the team following the injury to Gabriel Jesus, but tonight’s game is better suited to a player of Trossard’s abilities, as Arsenal will be looking to exploit spaces with Everton coming with a low block, as well as some good old Satanball.
Regarding other team news, Arsenal will sweating over the fitness of Thomas Partey, that managed to get a couple of minutes under his belt in the last clash against Leicester, and there is more progress regarding Gabriel Jesus’ fitness as he’s itching closer to a return to the pitch. Mohamed Elneny remains the long-term absentee. Everton will be without their injury-prone forward, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, while Andros Townsend and Nathan Patterson are still on the sidelines.
Everton have won only 2 of their last 14 competitive fixtures in all competitions. The wins have come recently and Everton beat Arsenal and Leeds United 1-0 at home in the Premier League. The wins have come in their last four matches but Everton’s away form is poor and The Toffees have failed to win any of their last 9 away games in all competitions, so Arsenal should take advantage of their wretched run of results on the road.
Arsenal vs Everton Predicted Lineups
Arsenal: Ramsdale; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Partey, Xhaka, Odegaard; Martinelli, Trossard, Saka.
Everton: Pickford; Coleman, Tarkowski, Coady, Mykolenko; Doucoure, Gueye, Onana, Iwobi, McNeil; Maupay
Injury / Suspension Updates
Arsenal: Mohamed Elneny (knee), Gabriel Jesus (knee)
Everton: Dominic Calvert-Lewin (hamstring), Nathan Patterson (knee), Andros Townsend (knee)
Form Guide
Arsenal Form
- Last Five Games: L D L W W
- Last Result: Leicester 0-1 Arsenal (Martinelli 46?)
- Leading Goalscorer: Bukayo Saka (10)
Everton Form
- Last Five Games: L W L W L
- Last Result: Everton 0-2 Aston Villa (Watkins 63′, Buendia 81′)
- Leading Goalscorer: Demarai Gray (5)
Gooner Daily predicts a 3 – 0 victory.
Kick Off – 8.45pm (GMT +1) at Emirates Stadium.
Follow Gooner Daily on Twitter @goonerdaily.
Visit Gooner Daily’s Facebook page.
Click on the “Follow button” to join Gooner Daily’s Mailing List
