Arsenal Player Ratings vs. Everton: Tale of Two VAR Reviews on Merseyside

The player who most needed a goal for Arsenal decided a scrappy contest.

Arsenal will top the Premier League on Christmas Day. / Oli SCARFF/AFP/Getty Images

Viktor Gyökeres’s first-half penalty earned Arsenal a 1–0 victory away to Everton on Saturday night in a scratchy win which owed as much to VAR as any player in red.

A game of blocks and buffeting challenges, flashes of guile interlaced with much more gusto, was defined by two penalty reviews. VAR Michael Salisbury rightly identified Jake O’Brien’s obvious handball to give the spot kick which Gyökeres converted, yet William Saliba somehow escaped punishment for a stray swipe of Thierno Barry in the second half.

All David Moyes could do was berate on-pitch official Sam Barrott at the final whistle, while Mikel Arteta wheeled away with a cocktail of relief and joy. The win took Arsenal back to the Premier League summit but the fortune behind their victory will give Manchester City and the chasing pack hope of catching them.

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Arsenal Player Ratings vs. Everton (4-3-3)

Declan Rice grew into Saturday’s game. / Ben Roberts-Danehouse/Getty Images

*Ratings Provided by FotMob*

GK: David Raya—8.4: If a sense of uncertainty pervaded Arsenal’s backline at times, there was never a whisper of doubt about the goalkeeper, either in the air or with the ball at his feet.

RB: Jurriën Timber—7.5: Locked up Jack Grealish and span him around as he launched surge after surge down the right.

CB: William Saliba—7.0: Somehow evaded punishment for a blatant kick on Barry, who caused more problems than Saliba perhaps would have expected.

CB: Piero Hincapié—7.4: Left Saliba to battle with Barry and Beto, mopping up the crumbs impressively.

LB: Riccardo Calafiori—7.0: Roaming infield with menace, Calafiori shook off a nasty crack on the head in the first half.

CM: Martin Ødegaard—7.0: Very much grew into the game, calibrating his radar as the clock ticked down.

CM: Martín Zubimendi—7.5: Seemed to carry a patch of clear green grass around with him, forever knocking a pass past a blue shirt who arrived just too late.

CM: Declan Rice—8.1: When in motion, there is no stopping Rice. The same player who can look a bit clunky from a standing start is almost unrivalled when given space to run into.

RW: Bukayo Saka—7.6: A night of nearlies for Saka, who had one particularly glaring effort clear off the line.

ST: Viktor Gyökeres—7.2: Got his goal and an early spot on the bench. Put himself about a lot but never seemed to overly trouble Everton’s meaty centre-back pairing, who relished the physical contact Gyökeres was all too willing to provide.

LW: Leandro Trossard—7.3: Always seemed to be stretching and straining to control the ball, make a pass or, most importantly, fire a shot against the post.

Substitute	Rating (Out of 10)
Gabriel Jesus (65’ for Gyökeres)	5.9
Gabriel Martinelli (80’ for Trossard)	6.0
Mikel Merino (88’ for Ødegaard)	N/A

Subs not used: Kepa Arrizabalaga (GK), Myles Lewis-Skelly, Christian Nørgaard, Eberechi Eze, Ethan Nwaneri, Noni Madueke.

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Everton (4-2-3-1)

Starting XI: Jordan Pickford; Jake O’Brien, James Tarkowski, Michael Keane, Vitalii Mykolenko; Tim Iroegbunam, James Garner; Dwight McNeil, Charly Alcaraz, Jack Grealish; Thierno Barry.

Subs used: Beto, Tyler Dibling, Merlin Röhl

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Player of the Match: David Raya (Arsenal)

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Everton 0–1 Arsenal: How It Unfolded at the Hill Dickinson Stadium

Viktor Gyökeres has converted his last 19 league penalties. / Ben Roberts-Danehouse/Getty Images

The pressure was on Arsenal heading into unknown territory on Saturday evening. Manchester City had moved above the Gunners into first place a few hours before kickoff, powered by the insatiable Erling Haaland. Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium under the lights was heaving with anticipation in its final dusting down before Christmas Day, with Moyes eager to get one over his former club captain.

If Arteta’s visitors were impacted by these lofty stakes, they didn’t show it.

Arsenal denied Everton a single shot in the opening 45 minutes. Jordan Pickford’s goal was scarcely bombarded but the Gunners still took a 1–0 lead into the half-time interval. O’Brien had avoided punishment for a clumsy shove on Gyökeres moments before testing the full width and breadth of his invisibility cloak. Clearly, it didn’t extend to his hands, both of which were bizarrely raised above his head as they made contact with a Declan Rice corner. Gyökeres emphatically converted his 27th-minute spot kick.

The control which Arsenal had exerted over the opening 45 minutes was quashed with the sharp parp of the referee’s whistle to start the second half. Everton turned the contest into an arm wrestle, expertly ruffling their pristine visitors.

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Moyes shifted the gravity of his side up the pitch, pinning the ball inside Arsenal’s final third with a sweaty stranglehold. The sense of sustained mayhem reached its fever pitch on the cusp of the hour mark when a spell of uncontrolled ball juggling prompted Saliba to inadvertently strike Thierno Barry’s calf. Somehow, the referee Barrott and VAR Salisbury both conspired to overlook the obvious contact.

That outrageous oversight—explained unconvincingly by the Premier League Match Centre as “insufficient” contact—sparked another swing in momentum. Arsenal regained their composure and quickly quietened the crowd with a renewed composure in possession which actually offered some penetration.

A swift sweep of the pitch from right to left in the 64th minute climaxed with Leandro Trossard crashing an effort off the post when a yawning slice of netting was left unguarded. Martín Zubimendi struck the same upright five minutes later, walking onto Martin Ødegaard’s cutback after a deft piece of interplay with Bukayo Saka.

Arsenal’s inability to find a game-sealing second created a sense of unease among the visitors—embodied by the bouncing figure of Arteta throughout the closing stages. Yet, Raya was never overly tested as the north London outfit emerged with all three points.

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Everton vs. Arsenal Half Time Stats

Statistic	Everton	Arsenal
Possession	35%	65%
Expected Goals (xG)	0	1.04
Total Shots	0	6
Shots on Target	0	1
Big Chances	0	1
Passing Accuracy	78%	88%
Fouls Committed	3	1
Corners	2	1

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Everton vs. Arsenal Full Time Stats

Statistic	Everton	Arsenal
Possession	35%	65%
Expected Goals (xG)	0.20	1.81
Total Shots	5	13
Shots on Target	1	2
Big Chances	0	2
Passing Accuracy	74%	87%
Fouls Committed	4	5
Corners	2	3

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