Opinion

Sometimes it Doesn't Matter How You Win

In the Premier League era, this fixture has ranked up there among the most miserable on Everton’s calendar. So forgive Evertonians for revelling in a first win at Arsenal since 1996, one that provides another platform from which to resume the push for Europe

In the Premier League era, this fixture has ranked up there among the most miserable on Everton’s calendar. They suffered their worst defeat since Sky invented football in 1992 on the Gunners’ home turf, that horrible 7-0 humiliation at Highbury 16 years ago, and Blues sides have been on the end of some depressingly heavy score lines in this part of North London down the years.

Even when they have travelled south and been fancied to finally end a hoodoo that extended well beyond the opening of the Emirates Stadium, they have either let themselves down, caught Arsenal on a good day, or been cursed by ill-fortune. Such as that very late deflected strike that once prevented a brilliant Steven Pienaar goal being a deserving match-winner, for instance.

So forgive Evertonians for revelling in a first win at Arsenal since 1996, a time when Andrei Kanchelskis was in his pomp for the Toffees, even if it came on the back of another of those tortuous “maximum efficiency” performances — desperately short on attacking output with seemingly no satisfactory explanation for it.

Carlo Ancelotti was able to welcome Dominic Calvert-Lewin back to a starting line-up that also included captain Seamus Coleman, another returnee in André Gomes and, once again, featured a fit James Rodriguez. With Yerry Mina perhaps not deemed 100% ready to start again after missing the Spurs game with an adductor problem and Michael Keane out with a reported hamstring injury, the pre-match concerns seemed to centre around the relatively inexperienced and untried partnership of Ben Godfrey and Mason Holgate at the back.

As it turned out, the duo performed very well together — Godfrey was immense again — and, combined with Jordan Pickford’s alertness in second-half stoppage time, Everton’s defensive solidity was a big reason why they came away with all three points. But it’s hard to overlook how close this came to being a second successive goalless bore draw away from home or, again, explain why over the past three months this team has really only been able to find its attacking rhythm when playing against Tottenham.

In terms of results, of course, it doesn’t matter… until it does — against West Ham, Newcastle, Fulham, Burnley, Palace, for example. As the Toffees’ champions-level away form continues (they’ve won 10 times away from home for the first time since the 1980s), it’s those desperately poor home displays that will have cost them if they fall short of European qualification this season and particularly if they miss out on the top four.

Amazingly, despite dropping those 14 points at Goodison Park since the turn of the year, the door to the Champions League remains ajar for Ancelotti’s side. Depending on how results go this weekend, they could end it sitting just four points off the top four with a game in hand but it’s going to be an excruciating run-in if the Italian’s charges are going to continue to rely on a single shot on target in 90 minutes.

That one accurate effort came from the boot of Richarlison with just shy of half an hour gone and was saved by Bernd Leno, the two protagonists in the freakish incident that would decide the game 45 minutes later. The Brazilian had turned inside his man impressively after latching onto Allan’s superb pass and unloaded one of his familiarly quick shots but the German reacted well to turn it aside with one hand.

Leno had needed to be alert a few minutes earlier when a whipped cross by Lucas Digne took a heavy deflection towards goal off Rob Holding but his goal wasn’t threatened for the rest of the first half until Gylfi Sigurdsson stepped up to take a direct free-kick after Richarlison had been tripped by Thomas Partey not far outside the area.

The Icelandic skipper is still searching for his first competitive free-kick goal for the Blues but he came as close as he ever has with his 38th-minute effort that smacked off the top of the crossbar.

For their part Arsenal, shorn of their two best strikers in the form of the injured Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette as well as first-choice left-back Kieran Tierney, were game enough but fairly toothless against an Everton team that was willing to press and stay mostly compact.

Bakayo Saka had one low shot from a decent opportunity that he fired too close to Jordan Pickford but, on the whole, it was a fairly uneventful first half, one played out against the backdrop of hundreds of Gunners fans chanting and protesting outside the ground and the persistent drone of a police helicopter flying overhead.

Having kept things tight without really stretching themselves, the promise that the second half held from the Toffees’ perspective appeared to be signalled by their first real attack after half-time, a move that echoed Sigurdsson’s superb second goal against Spurs last Friday. Coleman got behind the fullback down the right and crossed for Sigurdsson but this time his attempted side-foot finish was deflected behind.

As it turned out, it would be the best move they would fashion all game and they wouldn’t muster a chance worthy of the name until Richarlison’s directness forced in the winning goal. Allan was doing some fine work in central midfield where Tom Davies had surprisingly been dropped for Gomes but the Portuguese looked lead-footed and offered little. His replacement after 65 minutes, Fabian Delph, was even worse, looking every inch a player who hasn’t kicked a ball in anger since early December.

Most glaring was the performance of James who had easily his worst display since joining the club. The Colombian generally played far too deep, was caught in possession on a number of occasions and had very little impact going forward. Frankly, it was almost as if someone from the Arsenal staff had put something in his energy drink, it was that uncharacteristic of a performance. Even gods have their bad days.

That contributed to long spells before the goal where Everton just couldn’t move the ball forward. They didn’t seem to have the legs in midfield, no one was showing for passes and it genuinely looked like they didn’t see the urgency in a situation that, had they not won, would have left them with an even bigger mountain to climb in terms of European qualification.

In the meantime, Arsenal were growing in confidence and were looking the more likely to win the game, even after they had an incredibly soft penalty award reversed because of a hair’s-breadth offside ruling by Video Assistant Referee, David Coote. Jon Moss had somehow seen fit to point to the spot after Dani Ceballos had gone down theatrically after Richarlison had nicked his shin but Nicolas Pépé’s sleeve was deemed to have been ahead of the last defender in the build-up.

Later, Emile Smith Rowe's drilled cross/shot from the right almost ricocheted in off Holgate but flashed into the side-netting, Callum Chambers bounced a half-volley over the crossbar following an Arsenal set-piece and Ceballos warmed Pickford's hands with a driven effort from 20 yards that the keeper pushed away to safety.

The deciding goal was perhaps fitting for such a lacklustre contest. Richarlison deserved credit for turning makeshift full-back Granit Xhaka and then driving to the byline before attempting to fire the ball across goal for Calvert-Lewin. It went through Leno's gloves and in off the goalkeeper’s heel and skidded into the goal, leaving him crestfallen at what proved to be a crucial error.

The goal survived a check by VAR and that was Ancelotti's cue to shut up shop as he withdrew James and Richarlison in the closing stages in favour of Tom Davies and Yerry Mina.

Arsenal would get one last chance to claim a point in injury time for the second week running but Gabriel Martinelli was foiled by a great one-handed stop by Pickford. It’s not the first time the England keeper has preserved a victory with an important late save and he did really well to get a hand down to the shot and keep it out. The Blues’ resilient defensive stand did the rest.

The entertainment under Ancelotti will hopefully return once things get further back to normal with full crowds, new signings and a better paced fixture list. For now, the results are all important; the manner of victory less so than getting the win and keeping those European places within touching distance.

The concerns remain, however, around how little leeway Everton are giving themselves in matches with so few chances and what continues to be, the Spurs game apart, a curious lethargy and lack of drive on the players’ part as a collective.

Psychologically, as the club’s first win at Arsenal in a quarter of a century, this was a huge win. It was also hugely significant in the context of the race for Europe, and if the team can actually approach these final six games as if they were cup finals, then they could yet ensure their place in Continental competition for next season. With that game in hand and a “six-pointer” against West Ham still to come, it’s very much in our hands.

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