Premier League preview: Everton v Arsenal
Onwards and sideways at Everton, where they have gone seven league games without defeat ever since Newcastle United left Goodison Park with the points in mid-September, but boss David Moyes is still frustrated at the failure to turn draws into wins.
Jermaine Beckford’s stoppage time strike, and first Premier League goal, turned a defeat into a point at home to Bolton on Wednesday night, yet still Moyes wasn’t happy. The Scot is a hard man to please.
“It probably felt like a defeat against Bolton,” said Moyes, “and I feel like I’ve dropped a few points. Credit to my players for keeping going and trying to do the right things, but in the final third we still can’t finish teams off.
“It’s probably been the long playing record everyone has heard from me since the start of the season.”
Quite. Everton’s inability to consistently find the net was the key to their early season woes, but now having moved away from the foot of the table those problems still persist, and probably will until the Blues are in a position to splash out on a top level forward. It’s at the back that they might have to worry at the weekend though.
“For a while Arsenal have played the best football in the league,” said defender Sylvain Distin, who moved to Everton shortly after the Gunners administered a 6-1 hammering at Goodison on the opening day of last season. “They maybe lack a bit of experience or a few macho players like they had when they were winning everything, but the way they play is very interesting.
“They are still a tremendous team. I watched them play Newcastle and even though they lost the game they played wonderful football so they are always a good team to watch and a tough opponent. They play with the ball on the ground and with one or two touches, maximum. They play with a lot of movement and you can end up chasing the ball for 90 minutes if you are not careful.
“But we know if we play to our potential then there are not many teams who can live with us – particularly at Goodison.”
Arsenal’s home defeat to Newcastle drew more interested viewers than just Distin, but the Gunners bounced back from their second home loss to a promoted team this season to beat Wolves 2-0 at Molineux in midweek. Forward Marouane Chamakh grabbed both goals, but it was a performance at the other end of the pitch that grabbed more headlines, even if the subject of those headlines wasn’t too surprised to be receiving the plaudits.
“I have played for some time and have not been looking bad,” said Lukasz Fabianski, the 25-year-old Pole in Arsenal’s goal.
“I was not happy with what happened against Newcastle but overall I have still felt in good shape. I was not thinking about 'bouncing back from Newcastle' against Wolves, and was only focused on having a good game and helping the team.
“I think I'm getting experience which is really important for a keeper and that experience is helping me to prepare for another game.”
Whether or not consistently picking a goalkeeper who is still searching for “that experience” is the right thing for Arsenal is of course up to Arsène Wenger, but the Frenchman certainly seems to be happy with Fabianski as his last line of defence at the moment – whether that be through sheer stubbornness or otherwise.
He’ll take his place behind the Gunners rearguard on Sunday, and he should be confident that his team-mates have what it takes to beat the Blues, even if that means resorting to foul play. Arsenal – for all of Wenger’s protestations about bad tackles – are currently bottom of the disciplinary table.
Sunday’s hosts are second, meaning that the kind of “in their faces” attitude that many would have expected from Moyes’ side won’t be adopted here, perhaps to their cost.
Arsenal have been better away from home this season, and although it won’t be 6-1 this time, that run looks like continuing at Goodison, home to a transitional Everton who are still searching for their real place amongst such company.
Prediction: Everton 1 Arsenal 2
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