Arsenal Player Ratings vs. Everton: Dramatic Finale Stops History Repeating Itself

Arsenal’s 2–0 win over Everton was far from convincing, but still took the Gunners 10 points clear of Manchester City.

A much-needed win for Arsenal. | Catherine Ivill/AMA/Getty Images

LONDON — Two late goals from Viktor Gyökeres and Max Dowman snatched three crucial, if not entirely deserved, points for Arsenal in the dying embers of a grueling slog against Everton on Saturday afternoon.

Three days and 380 miles were behind Arsenal after a desperately limp Champions League draw with Bayer Leverkusen, yet it was largely a case of copy and paste. In a worryingly similar pattern, the Gunners were convincingly frustrated by an opponent who unashamedly set up to stymy.

As Arsenal cycled the ball exclusively in front of Everton’s low block, one exasperated fan captured the angst inside the Emirates Stadium by shouting: “How long are you going to do this for?” The answer would prove to be 88-and-a-half minutes.

While Mikel Arteta’s side had been saved against Leverkusen with a soft penalty, a fortuitous break of the ball proved to be their savor on Saturday. A cross swung in out of hope more than anything else deceived the usually reliable Jordan Pickford, bounced off Piero Hincapié and into the grateful path of Gyökeres. Pickford was caught in the wrong half of the pitch chasing an equalizer when Dowman streaked away for Arsenal’s second.

Arteta freely admitted that Leverkusen had deserved to defeat his side on Wednesday and Everton could feel bitterly hard done by to slink away from the capital without a single point.

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The Moment That Defined the Game

Max Dowman’s introduction changed the game. | Alex Burstow/Arsenal FC/Getty Images

Napoleon Bonaparte is always credited with the theory that he would rather have a lucky general than a good one. Arsenal were certainly more of the former than the latter on Saturday.

David Moyes offered a more impassioned defense of Arsenal’s style than anyone in north London in the buildup to Saturday’s fixture. Arteta’s former manager vociferously dismissed the claim that “everybody has to play the beautiful game and everything has to be perfect.”

“If we all done that it would be boring,” he argued. "Football would be boring.”

There was no danger of any sustained spells of beauty or perfection at the Emirates during what could generously be called a tense affair. By contrast, there was a huge slice of fortune behind the in-swinging delivery from Dowman which led to that all important breakthrough.

The Gunners had tossed in 20 crosses across the first 88 minutes, 17 of which failed to find their target. Dowman’s ball appeared to be destined for the same fate as it slowly tumbled out of the dark London sky only for Pickford to misjudge its trajectory. Hincapié knew little about what may prove to be the most important assist of his Arsenal career and Gyökeres was on hand to tap in from two yards.

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Arsenal Player Ratings vs. Everton (4-2-3-1)

Arsenal were made to wait for their win. | Alex Burstow/Arsenal FC/Getty Images

*Ratings provided by FotMob*

GK: David Raya—8.0: Kept Arsenal in the game with a number of superb, reactionary saves from close range, including one particularly impressive contortion of his left leg to deny Beto.

RB: Jurriën Timber—6.3: Had all the authority of a substitute teacher while trying (and invariably failing) to control Iliman Ndiaye. Everton would have been as disappointed as the hosts to see Timber forced off through injury in the first half.

CB: William Saliba—8.4: Faced with the massed ranks of Everton blue all too often, Saliba spent much of the contest in the final third joining his teammates in looking for a final pass. He never found it.

CB: Gabriel—7.8: Battled gamely with Beto for the entire contest. Gabriel was so up close and personal with the Everton No. 9 he should be able to identify his cologne.

LB: Riccardo Calafiori—7.6: Made an incredible block in the first half after tumbling to the turf, propelling himself off his arms to deny Dwight McNeil with an outstretched boot.

CM: Martín Zubimendi—7.5: Peppered the game with a deftness of touch which many of his teammates (and opponents) failed to replicate.

CM: Declan Rice—7.7: If he hadn’t already, Rice realized this would be a battle quickly after he had his boot kicked off him in a challenge within the opening minute. He proved up for the fight.

AM: Eberechi Eze—7.4: Dared to actually venture some mildly adventurous passes. They didn’t come off, but that is still an improvement.

RW: Bukayo Saka—7.5: After a painfully ineffective outing against Bayer Leverkusen in midweek, the zip and energy in Saka’s game was still lacking.

ST: Kai Havertz—6.3: The ghost in the machine. Arsenal’s most likely route to goal for so much of the contest while drifting between the lines. The only issue was that there was only one Havertz on the pitch and he was only fit enough to last 60 minutes.

LW: Noni Madueke—7.6: Shunted onto his unnatural flank, Madueke never veered too far away from looking awkward.

SUB: Cristhian Mosquera (38’ for Timber)—7.1: Didn’t struggle quite as much as the right back he replaced but was hardly a beacon of assurance.

SUB: Gabriel Martinelli (61’ for Madueke)—6.8: Ferreted around without much success.

SUB: Viktor Gyökeres (61’ for Havertz)—7.2: In the right place at the right time to take the acclaim.

SUB: Piero Hincapié (74’ for Calafiori)—7.1: Can’t take much credit for match-winning assist.

SUB: Max Dowman (74’ for Zubimendi)—7.8: There may have been no goalkeeper to beat, but a 16-year-old scoring in the Premier League is always something to celebrate.

Subs not used: Kepa Arrizabalaga (GK), Ben White, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Gabriel Jesus.

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What the Ratings Tell Us

Opportunities were hard to come by for Arsenal. | Mark Leech/Offside/Getty Images

• Arteta shuffled his pack for a challenge he would have seen coming a mile off, introducing the chaotic elements of Riccardo Calafiori at left back, Noni Madueke from the start and the ephemeral mischief of Kai Havertz. Yet it was to little avail. While all three were on the pitch, Arsenal created a pathetic 0.24 xG from open play.
• The replacements Arteta immediately deployed failed to offer much improvement as they had been overlooked for a reason—Martinelli and Gyökeres are not bullocking sprinters for stretched contests, not tip-toeing lock pickers. Dowman, who has more of that craft about him, helped turn the tide.
• Eberechi Eze had one of his better performances from the No. 10 position, injecting a bit more risk into his game even though the opposition weren’t Tottenham Hotspur. There was a slipped pass into Havertz which led to his forceful penalty appeal and a shot from the edge of the box which curled wide. Yet, his status as one of the forward line’s most promising outlets tells its own, more damning story.

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The Numbers That Explain Arsenal’s Dramatic Win

A win is a win. | Marc Atkins/Getty Images

• Arsenal racked up 25 shots but only seven were on target. It’s all very well and good having a pop at goal but if it’s from the fringes of the penalty area with a fleshy wall of royal blue in front of you, there’s little point.
• The two goals which Arsenal converted came from xGs of 0.91 (Gyökeres) and 0.88 (Dowman). Without those two open goals, the Gunners would have mustered 0.80xG compared to Everton’s 1.05.
• Everton still remain the only Premier League team yet to concede a set-piece goal away from home this season, which is a big reason why their hosts were so incredibly frustrated.

Statistic	Arsenal	Everton
Possession	65%	35%
Expected Goals (xG)	2.59	1.05
Total Shots	25	9
Shots on Target	7	3
Big Chances	2	2
Passing Accuracy	87%	74%
Fouls Committed	11	12
Corners	8	3

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