Sean Dyche got his new regime at Everton off to a perfect start with a well-deserved 1-0 win over Premier League leaders at Goodison Park courtesy of a goal from a set piece, nodded home by James Tarkowski.
The Toffees, who came into the tie 19th in the Premier League, roared into life under Dyche, snapping into tackles in their 4-4-1-1 system and roared on by a vociferous Goodison Park crowd. They should have taken the lead midway through the first half, with Dominic Calvert Lewin failing to get any contact on a ball whipped across the six yard box, before Abdoulaye Doucoure headed wide from a dangerous area.
The Gunners, who had been poor in the first half, improved at the beginning of the second and looked to be piling the pressure on the Toffees. However, Sean Dyche’s new side took a surprise but deserved lead when James Tarkowski rose highest at the back post to nod a free kick past Aaron Ramsdale, and send the home fans into ecstasy.
TARKOWSKIIIII!! 🤩
The Sean Dyche era is up and running at Goodison Park as league leaders Arsenal go 1-0 down… 😳#EPL pic.twitter.com/cCOTIon2YQ
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) February 4, 2023
Mikel Arteta’s side continued to probe, but Everton remained solid and determined defensively and offered very little despite the best efforts of Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka.
As the nerves began to jangle on Merseyside, Arsenal attacks came in waves with increasing regularity, but Oleksandr Zinchenko fired over twice and Everton threw their bodies in the way of Arsenal efforts to hold on to an invaluable clean sheet, and condemn Arsenal to just their second Premier League defeat this season.
The result could see the gap at the top of the Premier League cut to just two points should Manchester City beat Tottenham on Sunday, while Everton lift themselves out of the relegation zone, and with performances like that shown against the Premier League leaders, should have no problems avoiding the drop.
📰 Table Of Contents
Player ratings
Everton
- GK: Jordan Pickford (7) – Didn’t have a great deal to do but commanded his box well when called upon.
- RB: Seamus Coleman (7) – Looked a mismatch against Martinelli but was helped out by Iwobi and kept the Brazilian quiet.
- CB: Conor Coady (7) – Used his experience in defence well alongside Tarkowski, and made one vital goalline clearance in the first half.
- CB: James Tarkowski (8) – Fittingly came up with Sean Dyche’s first goal in charge of Everton. Was excellent defensively too.
- LB: Vitaly Mykolenko (8) – Battled well with Saka and kept the usually prolific Englishman largely anonymous at Goodison Park.
- RM: Alex Iwobi (7) – Hard working and did well to get his side up the pitch, but lacked any real quality in the final third against his old side.
- CM: Idrissa Gana Gueye (8) – Showed all of his experience against the Gunners and worked tirelessly to keep Martin Odegaard quiet in the first half. Faded in the second 45.
- CM: Amadou Onana (9) – Arsenal and Chelsea were thought to be keen on him in January and clear to see why. Operated as a hybrid central midfielder and centre forward excellently and should have had an assist for his efforts.
- CM: Abdoulaye Doucoure (8) – An excellent outing from Doucoure, who worked brilliantly to prevent Arsenal playing through the Everton midfield.
- LM: Dwight McNeil (8) – Worked tirelessly to help double up on Bukayo Saka and keep the Arsenal star quiet. Seems right at home back under Sean Dyche.
- ST: Dominic Calvert-Lewin (6) – Should have done better with two glorious efforts in the first half, but was a useful outball for the Toffees and they struggled when he was taken off.
Substitutes
- Neal Maupay (5) – Couldn’t hold the ball up for Everton and it showed, with Arsenal piling on increased pressure after his introduction.
Team
- GK: Aaron Ramsdale (6) – Didn’t have much to do and could do nothing for the Everton goal.
- RB: Ben White (5) – Struggled in the first half and was guilty of under-hitting several passes into teammates. Couldn’t get into the game going forwards.
- CB: William Saliba (5) – Not his best game in an Arsenal shirt, and though he got better in the second half he really struggled in the first.
- CB: Gabriel (6) – Better than his partner and probably Arsenal’s most assured defender.
- LB: Oleksandr Zinchenko (6) – Continued to be tidy in possession but even he could not find a way through Everton’s packed ranks
- CM: Thomas Partey (5) – Was a little too casual with his passing in the first half, and struggled to provide his usual progressive efforts.
- CM: Granit Xhaka (6) – Didn’t see much of the ball in the first half but was tidy and more authoritative in the second. Benefitted from Trossard’s introduction.
- CM: Martin Odegaard (6) – Struggled to get into the game in the first half. Improved a lot in the second but still couldn’t unlock a stubborn Everton defence.
- RW: Bukayo Saka (6) – Always looked the most likely to make something happen but could never find the final ball and was ultimately marshaled well by Mykolenko.
- ST: Eddie Nketiah (5) – Blazed over in the first half from a tight angle. Struggled against the Everton centre-backs all game.
- LW: Gabriel Martinelli (4) – Couldn’t get into the game whatsoever in the first half, and made little impact in the first part of the second. Substituted before the hour mark.
Substitutes
- Leandro Trossard (5) – Saw lots of the ball but couldn’t do anything with it when he came on.
- Jorginho (4) – Guilty of losing the ball on a couple of occasions too close to his own goal. A tough debut for the Italian.
- Fabio Vieira (5) – Came on for Martin Odegaard and Arsenal’s quality on the ball diminshed.
- Takehiro Tomiyasu (N/A)- Came on for the final five minutes of the game.
Key Stats
On the way to Goodison Park. Nice pre-match stat from Opta: Arsenal have won 99 of their 202 league games against Everton, and could become the first team in English league history to register 100 wins against one opponent.
— Sam Dean (@SamJDean) February 4, 2023
HT: Everton (1.47) 0-0 (0.36) Arsenal
— The xG Philosophy (@xGPhilosophy) February 4, 2023
Expert analysis
Everton will be more pleased with that half but worth remembering Arsenal had a good chance for Nketiah & Saka’s effort cleared off the line.
What Arteta will want is more control. Wouldn’t be too surprised if we saw Jorginho at some stage…
— gunnerblog (@gunnerblog) February 4, 2023
Poor first half from #AFC. Everton defending very narrow and Arsenal making it too comfortable for them. Not enough movement in the final 3rd to pull them apart. No surprise Toffees are up for this with the new manager and Arsenal need to rise to it. pic.twitter.com/PnY5Uby4le
— Kaya Kaynak (@kayakaynak97) February 4, 2023
Horrible day for Arsenal fans. All the warning signings were there: new manager, lunchtime kick-off, Goodison Park.
Everton did well. But this was as much the quality of Arsenal’s game: they couldn’t break Everton down – and when they did, missed a couple of good chances.
— gunnerblog (@gunnerblog) February 4, 2023
Fan Reaction
Really poor half from us, a lot of poor performances out there. Need a response in the second half
— Met. (@AFCMet) February 4, 2023
Our midfield has been pitiful so far
— Chiddy 🇳🇬 (@chiddyafc) February 4, 2023
Extremely tough half as expected. Nketiah should have scored but then Everton have had three brilliant chances, especially Calvert-Lewin’s first.
— Jason Soutar (@jbsoutar) February 4, 2023
Martinelli need a rest… Proper rest
— Santi™ (@PeakSanti) February 4, 2023
The first Everton goal of the Dyche era being nutted in by Tarkowski from a set piece feels incredibly apt.
— HLTCO (@HLTCO) February 4, 2023
Find someone who is ready to fight for you the way that Maupay is always up for a scrap against Arsenal
— Casey Evans (@Casey_Evans_) February 4, 2023
Ben White’s worst performance of the season so far 😭
— Jason Soutar (@jbsoutar) February 4, 2023
