Arene Wenger and his Gunners faced their first big challenge against Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday. Everton went up 1-0 in the 19th minute with a goal from an unmarked Seamus Coleman, after lazy defending by Mesut Ozil allowed Coleman a free header at the back post.
Everton went up 2-0 before the half with a brilliant counter-attack and link up between Romelu Lukaku and Steven Naismith. Further review of the goal clearly showed that Lukaku’s pass to Naismith was offside, but the assistant referee did not throw his flag up and thus the goal stood.
After being up 2-0, Roberto Martinez side felt confident of the win and took youngster Lukaku out of the attack in the 75th minute. Arsenal came back fighting in the second half, but did not find the back of the net until the 83rd minute with a goal by Welshman Aaron Ramsey, assisted by substitute for Jack Wilshire.
Olivier Giroud secured a point for the Gunners in the 90th minute, fighting off Sylvain Distin to win a header past American keeper Tim Howard.
Everton played well and looked confident in the first half of the match. Naismith, Gareth Barry and James McCarthy linked up well in the midfield to hold possession and were hardly pressed by Arsenal’s midfielders. Unfortunately, their defense and famed keeper, Tim Howard, could not keep the lead with Arsenal in rhythm and attacking hard.
Arsenal seemed lost and disorganized throughout the second half. Ozil, Alexis Sanchez, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Wilshire did not link up well together, and hardly any chances were created in the final third of the field. Arsenal finally found their rhythm after substituting Giroud in for Sanchez and Santi Cazorla in for Wilshire. With Giroud in the box, Arsenal felt more comfortable playing wide and sending crosses in, rather than attacking defenders and playing in tight spaces. Ozil also started to impact the game much more, connecting passes and creating chances.
Wenger’s side was riddled with injuries this weekend with Theo Walcott, Mikel Arteta, Kieran Gibbs and Serge Gnabry all out. Arteta was missed in the midfield as Mathieu Flamini struggled to hold Everton or create space for his side as creatively as Arteta. Gibbs’ and Walcott’s speed on the wings will be beneficial to Arsenal as soon as they are healthy again and will surely bump up the quality and speed, of the attack. Wenger omitted French defender Laurent Koscielny and gave youngster Calum Chambers a run and had to put Mathieu Debuchy in at right full-back. Both players did not impress as they made many mistakes and gave up silly fouls in dangerous areas.
Alexis Sanchez struggled to impact the game at all and, at times, felt as if he wanted to steal the show and impress by taking unnecessary risks. He could not link up well with his team mates and may have already found that the Premier League is much tougher than La Liga. Sanchez would probably be better suited to play as a wide forward like he was at Barcelona so that he can attack defenders and receive balls ahead of him instead of controlling the ball with the goal and defenders behind him and waiting in the box for a cross.
Arsenal may have crushed Roberto Martinez’s hopes for their first major three points, but they were also handed a reality check. If they are to be title contenders again, Wenger must move fast and gather points however they can.
(Photo Credit: Andrew Yates/NTB scanpix)
