Gunning For The Top

Everton's remarkable season took another up-swing; after another sensational 2-1 victory against Big Six opposition saw them rise to the heady heights of 2nd in the Premiership table; only behind arch-rivals and Merseyside neighbours Liverpool.

Arsenal are a team short on confidence; and it showed. Even when they equalised somewhat fortuitously through Nicolas Pepe's penalty after a rash kick-out from Tom Davies; they never quite looked in control of the game.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin has been a man on fire these days; and he did it again; heading on Alex Iwobi's early cross to force a somewhat-fortuitous own goal from Rob Holding. Carlo Ancelotti again replicated the same back four that was so successful against Chelsea & Leicester; putting Mason Holgate & Ben Godfrey in the full-back positions to replace Seamus Coleman & Lucas Digne. And while not giving up much in pace; they actually make Everton much bigger in terms of size and physical presence.

And that aerial superiority paid off on the stroke of half-time with Colombian star Yerry Mina; so good in the air as witnessed at the 2018 World Cup; rose to flick home Gylfi Sigurdsson's corner at the near-post; after some poor zonal marking from Pepe.

Arsenal did do better in the second half; controlling the majority of possession as Everton dropped into their shell a bit; but they couldn't really create anything of note; lest Jordan Pickford's near-calamitous fumble that saw David Luiz's goal-bound shot brilliantly deflected by Abdoulaye Doucoure.

In the end; without four of their best players in James Rodriguez; Allan; Coleman & Digne; Everton played well enough that they didn't miss them at all; with their organisation and determination enough to see this through. Credit also to central defender Michael Keane; who has been in great form the past few matches and is really back to his Burnley best.