Post-match thoughts
Ronald Koeman got the response he wanted from his players. Well, not immediately but he did after 30 minutes of the first half when his Everton players started to do everything he wanted them to. His midfield were sharp in the tackle, his forwards were motivated and had movement and his defence was resolute in the face of huge pressure late in that game. The one downside to that fine victory is that Jagielka is now suspended for the Merseyside derby. As for Arsenal, they struggled a bit phjysically. Coquelin and Xhaka didn’t boss midfield as McCarthy and Gueye stamped their authority on the game and therefore the supply lines to Ozil and Sanchez were not as good as they could have been. That said, they could, and probably should, have scored in the final minute of stoppage time as they hammed on the door. That would have made me look good for my prediction too. A good night for the blues then, Everton and Chelsea. Thanks for your emails. Goodnight.
And one final email: “I thought modern football was spinning out of financial control,” writes Peter Oh. “Based on your readers’ scorching missives, it’s nothing compared to what has happened to modern firefighting.”
90+4 min: Somehow Everton don’t concede as Arsenal ping about four shots at goal that culminate in Baines clearing off the line, Lukaku racing clear and setting Barkley up, badly, when he could have scored. The reason? Cech was still galloping back. What a finish to a frantic, wonderful game …
90+3 min: The corner is cleared and Jagielka is sent off for a second yellow card as he pulls back Perez.
90+2 min: Xhaka floats a ball towards Monreal at the back post. Coleman leaps and heads clear for a corner. Cech’s up for this one.
90 min: There’ll be four minutes added time. Barkley clatters a shot at Cech when all he had to do was square the ball to Mirallas for a tap-in. Everton win a corner and take it short in the hope they can waste time. They do keep possession. Can they see this out?
89 min: McCarthy is replaced by Funes Mori. He’s won the midfield battle with Xhaka. His furious tackling at the end of the first half helped swing this game the way of Everton too.
88 min: What a din at Goodison. The fans almost fall silent though as Sanchez drifts a ball in towards Giroud’s head but it’s inches away and Stekelenburg clasps the ball gratefully.
87 min: Arsenal’s marking was poor there but Williams and Everton won’t give a flying one. Maybe he was Xhaka’s man. Maybe he wasn’t. Could Koeman salvage another season with a win against Arsenal.
Goal! Everton 2-1 Arsenal (Williams 86)
What a moment for Williams. Barkley plays a brilliant ball into the box, Williams steams in and fires a header low into the net. Goodison erupts. It’s his first goal for the club. What a goal. How important that could be for Everton’s season.
84 min: Lukaku is fouled by Koscielny (they’ve had a fine battle tonight). Baines whips the free-kick into the box where a header is pinged down into an Arsenal player. Moments later Jagielka forces a fine stop from Cech. Corner …
82 min: Gueye turns beautifully to send his marker the wrong way and then plays a delicious little one-two before trying to feed the ball through to Lukaku, only to see his pass dink off an Arsenal defender and roll through to Cech. That was fleet-footed brilliance by the Everton midfielder.
80 min: Lukaku holds the ball up well and finds Coleman, on the gallop, on the right. He throws a few shapes before drifting in a left-footed cross that is cleared comfortably. The pace has dipped just a little. Not by much though.
78 min: What a show of faith in Dominic Calvert Lewin this is by Koeman. The 19-year-old, signed from Sheffield United for £1.5m, makes his debut. He replaces Enner Valencia, who gets a rousing round of applause for his hard work tonight. A teenager coming on against Arsenal with the score 1-1? Hmmm.
77 min: Allen Matthew Turner writes: “In response to Ali Robertson, if your uncle was making £35,000 a year, only put out one fire in 50 years and it took him three hours then he was actually making £583,333.33 per hour. Also, he wasn’t a fireman.”
75 min: Sanchez gets free in the inside-left channel again. His ball inside is at an awkward height for Iwobi, though, who can’t get his body under control as he prods a shot just wide.
73 min: Everton have their juices up. Lukaku wallops a shot at Monreal. Then Barkley whips in a wonderful ball that hits Koscielny and stops dead a couple of feet from the goal-line. Lukaku tries to get to it but as he gets his body in front of Koscielny, Iwobi pokes the ball away. Coleman plays a fine ball in moments later that is oh so close to finding its way through to Lukaku. This is much better from Everton
70 min: Oxlade Chamberlain is off and Iwobi is on for Arsenal. And Walcott too. He’s replaced by Giroud.
69 min: Sometimes there is no finer sight in football than a big man running really, really fast. Lukaku was that glorious sight just then, knocking the ball past Gabriel and racing after it in thrilling style only to slice his shot into the side-netting.
67 min: Mirallas replaces Lennon, who has had a quiet second half. “On TV they just showed Chris Waddle announcing the game,” writes JR in Illinois. “The headset he is wearing is gigantic. He is almost literally all just … headphones.” Maybe he is hard of hearing and needs massive cans JR. He’s no spring chicken these days.
64 min: Sanchez is released into the box, where he poses a rare old threat. He shimmies to the byline and drills a cross in that Williams blocks. Then Monreal picks up the rebound and fizzes a cross over … everyone. Arsenal come back again. Everton are on the ropes … but they survive. There is a cracking pace to this game.
63 min: Valencia, who has got himself into good positions all night, whips a low cross in towards Lukaku only to see it bounce off Koscielny and into Cech’s arms. That could, very easily, have been an own goal had the ricochet been a bit crueler.
62 min: The game is swinging back in Everton’s favour. They’re playing with vim and vigour once more. Here’s Ali Robertson: “I had an uncle that was an underemployed fireman for 50 years at, I guess, around 35k a year. He only had to put out one fire, that took him about 3 hours. Was he paid almost £10,000 per hour? Charles Antaki thinks so.”
60 min: Barkley finds space behind Coquelin and fizzes a left-footed shot just wide from 20 yards. Then Coquelin’s studs find Gueye’s shin and the Arsenal midfielder would appear to be lucky to avoid a yellow card. He’s had a few nibbles tonight.
57 min: Some brave goalkeeping by Stekelenburg stops Ozil from nipping in to get a free shot on goal. Bellerin had slipped the German in on goal but the Everton keeper rushed out and took a whack off Baines as he gathered the ball. I think his baubles took the brunt of Baines’s studs. Ooyah! Some deep breaths later and he’s up and at it again.
55 min: Everton break and Baines is tripped by Coquelin 20 yards from goal. Barkley stands over it … but his curled effort on goal is blocked by the wall.
53 min: Suddenly Arsenal are bringing the gegen … pressing Everton into a corner and forcing Coleman into a hurried clearance. Arsenal come back, Oxlade-Chamberlain slipping Sanchez in down the left wing. The Chilean pulls the ball back to Ozil who, completely unmarked, uncharacteristically curls the ball over from 12 yards when the net was gaping and Ozil was well positioned. Well, it happens.
52 min: Giroud and Iwobi are warming up for Arsenal. Here’s a lovely interview with the Arsenal youngster.
50 min: Dink, dink, dink, dink, dink. Arsenal are dominating possession but Everton are holding them back. But there is a feeling that if there is too much more of this ball-hogging from Arsenal, they will find a way through.
49 min: A warning sign for Everton. Sanchez, Walcott and Ozil play three of the simplest one-touch passes you will ever see and create a crossing opportunity for Sanchez. One that Walcott can’t take, as he heads over. How Giroud would have loved that.
47 min: Bellerin dinks a lovely little ball forwards to Coquelin, who returns the favour. But Baines stops Bellerin in his tracks and Everton clear. And now Charles Antaki brings the maths: “Erm, here goes: £400,000 a week, say for one game, played over 90 minutes, £400,000 / 90 …. (wrestles with pen and paper, gives up, uses trusty computer calculator, though not confidently)… yes, £4,400 a minute. Ah no, that’s with rounding.. £4,444! My final offer.”
45 min: Peep! And off we go again. Lukaku, not a man known for his pressing, puts Cech under pressure and forces him to wallop the ball clear. That’s a sign that Everton will begin where they left off.
Right, well Everton looked a completely different team when Koeman flared his nostrils and his team responded and pressed Arsenal. That said, they will need to create a great deal of chances to win this game as they feel Arsenal might only need three to score one or two goals. Everton made need 10. Keep your eye on tempers spiralling out of control in this second half too. McCarthy needs to keep his lid under control. Everton can’t afford a sending off. And how is this new Arsenal spine? Can it withstand a furious second half in the stormy north-west? A place that has done for previous title challenges? We’ll see.
An email: “Can we have the maths of Charles Antaki regarding Sanchez?” demands Yoann Lechenault. “Because I think he didn’t switch off just his moral scruples.”
Half-time: Everton 1-1 Arsenal
That was great. And my prediction of 2-2 is still alive.
45 min: Everton must wish the half could carry on. They look affronted as the half-time whistle goes. Then there is a load of pushing and shoving between the two teams as they try to get down the tunnel. This has been highly entertaining.
Goal! Everton 1-1 Arsenal (Coleman 44)
And there’s that missing quality. Gueye finds Baines out on the left. He sends Walcott for a copy of the Echo with a little swivel of the hips, and then whips in a beautiful ball with his right foot for Coleman to glance into the far corner. A deserved equaliser. Everton had already found their mojo, they just needed that moment of quality.
42 min: There’s a pulsating tempo in this game now. Barkley shows lovely feet to skip inside Bellerin and then wallops a crossfield pass over to Lukaku. He controls the ball and then slows play down unnecessarily. The result is a cross into the box that is cleared by Koscielny. Then McCarthy clatters into Coquelin and is booked for his trouble.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2016/dec/13/everton-v-arsenal-premier-league-live
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