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Once again Everton took to the road to try and earn 3 points against a top side, and once again Everton were denied three points due to a lack of quality in the final third. With Tim Cahill the only missing member of the squad as he is still returning from the final against Japan, Everton showed once again that their biggest weakness is a quality striker.
The game began as a very chirpy affair, with Everton and Arsenal getting called for several fouls within the first few minutes, and Arsenal were the first to be booked in a game that saw Lee Mason hand out 7 yellow cards, the first in the 5th minute to Walcott for a fairly ugly challenge, which was quickly followed up in the 13th minute by a card for Distin. This was certainly not the typical Arsenal game of free flowing football, although there was certainly some beauty in it for stretches. Rather this match felt a bit like a knockdown drag out fight where both teams were giving it everything they had, and in the end Arsenal felt they needed this game just a little bit more.
Of course this would not have been a Lee Mason game without a little bit of controversy, and it manifested itself on Louis Saha’s goal. Seamus Coleman made one of his patented runs into the Arsenal side of the field, and attempted to lob the ball through to Saha. When the ball left Coleman’s foot, Saha was certainly in an offside position, but the linesman failed to raise his flag, and the only real theory as to why is because the ball was deflected by Koscielny. Granted a deflection does not matter, the only way Saha would not have been offside is if Koscielny had gained possession of the ball and passed it back to him, but that certainly did not happen. After the match both managers agreed that the goal should not have stood, but it is certainly nice to see that Everton managed to get a little bit of luck to go their way.
After the goal the Arsenal faithful certainly stood up and made their voices heard, and Arsenal moved down the field to try and equalize before the halftime whistle. Several times the speed of Arsenal was able to beat the strength of Everton’s back line, but the stout goalkeeping of Tim Howard was enough to prevent the ball from hitting the back of the net. The halftime whistle was certainly a welcome relief for the Toffees, although it appears David Moyes was not thrilled with some of the comments made by Cesc Fabregas in the tunnel.
Returning from the break this game saw some of the best football, with both sides having several good chances, and finally Arsenal were the benefactors of some luck when a through ball from Fabregas glanced off of Rodwell’s head and directly into the path of Arshavin who placed it past a sprawling Tim Howard. This goal empowered the home side and they finally took the lead in the 75th minute when a corner kick found the head of Koscielny. After that it was merely a matter of Arsenal fending off Everton, although we certainly did nothing to truly test the Arsenal defense.
Billy once again got the start, and he had an excellent game, along with the hair maestro Fellaini. Both of these players were instrumental in helping to blunt the Arsenal attack, and this game could have been much worse without the two. In the defensive end, Sylvian Distin once again had a fantastic game, especially given the speed of Arsenal which is something he has traditionally struggled with. Heitinga once again got the start alongside him, and seemed to do well. I still feel that Jagielka needs to be starting alongside Distin, but hopefully the only reason he is not starting is due to fitness rather than form. This was also an excllent game for Tim Howard, who had several great saves to keep Everton in it, and really had no chance on either of the two goals.
Everton’s next game will be against Blackpool on Saturday at 10 am ET. The previous game between the two resulted in a draw, and Everton need to start picking up points to avoid a relegation battle. Until next time, COYB!
Category: Reviews
Tags: Arsenal, David Moyes, Everton, Louis Saha, Reviews, Tim Cahill, Tim Howard, ToffeesTweet « Everton v. Arsenal: An EPL Preview | Home |
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