Arsenal dominated Everton on Wednesday night at the Emirates Stadium. Despite getting off to a slow start to the match, the Gunners pushed to score four goals on the night. Stars Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard led the show once again for the Premier League leaders.
The hosts started the match with a bit of patience in mind. In fact, Arsenal had 68% possession in the first 20 minutes. However, the Gunners couldn’t exactly create any real chances on Everton’s goal during this stretch. Instead, the Toffees had both shots on goal in the early stages of the game. Neal Maupay sent two shots at Aaron Ramsdale’s goal in the first 15 minutes, but the keeper collected the ball easily enough.
As expected, Saka puts his club ahead.
It looked like this trend would continue for the rest of the first half. However, Saka put the Gunners ahead in the 40th minute with an incredible shot into the roof of the net from Jordan Pickford. Oleksandr Zinchenko picked his star partner, while Saka found space between two Everton defenders. Saka picked up the pass and fired a terrific shot from a difficult angle to beat Pickford.
Arsenal doubled their lead just a few minutes later. Saka pounced on Idrissa Gueye as the Everton midfielder held onto the ball carelessly. The winger’s clever tackle forced the ball to fall straight to a rushing Martinelli and he finished coolly past Pickford. The linesman originally raised his flag for offside on the play, but a VAR review showed that Martinelli was behind the ball when it was played.
Arsenal shoot up against Everton in the second half
Odegaard added the Gunners’ third goal in the 71st minute. Leandro Trossard made a dangerous run down the left wing and sent a perfect pass to the Norwegian inside the box. There were several Everton defenders in the box, but Odegaard somehow got the ball into the net through the chaos. The previous two goals certainly gave the club a confidence boost.
Martinelli put the fourth goal on the line ten minutes later. After some skillful passes from his teammates, substitute Eddie Nketiah ran into the Everton box and found Martinelli just yards from goal. The Brazilian neatly guided Pickford’s ball for the goal.
The victory extends Arsenal’s lead at the top of the Premier League table to five points. By contrast, Everton remained in the relegation zone with the heavy defeat.
Photo: IMAGO / Action Plus
