Arsenal vs Everton Player Ratings: Mesut Ozil Disappears

Didn’t have much to do. For as back and forth as this game was, the only time Cech was really called into question was against Jagielka and he made a fantastic save in that instance. He had nothing to do with Ashley Williams goal, nor didhe have much to do with the equalizer before half. Also almost scored one himself in stoppage time.. GK. Arsenal FC. PETR CECH. 7.1

Arsenal FC. HECTOR BELLERIN. 6.9. What a blessing having this guy back. He makes Theo Walcott so much more relevant and, even better, when Walcott disappears, Bellerin is there to pick up the slack. It’s understandable that the young Spaniard looked a bit rusty in the starting XI today, as he gave the ball away a bit too much. But he is getting back into the swing of things. Can’t blame him much for what happened today.. SUB

7.2. I don’t harbor much blame for the two center backs either. Both defended very well. Communication was a problem, but this is a pairing that hasn’t been used yet. This is not an easy match to make your first start of the season as a center back but Gabriel did very well. Even when Romelu Lukaku torched him, the Brazilian still saw the ball out for a corner. Good showing from Gabriel on the ability side of things.. RB. Arsenal FC. GABRIEL PAULISTA

7.4. More to blame than Gabriel for the first goal, as he was closer to Coleman, but again, hard to blame him much. Plus, he was such a calm customer at the back in a match that desperately needed just that. This was a high-flying match and nobody on this defensive end lost their cool.. CB. Arsenal FC. LAURENT KOSCIELNY

6.8. Wasn’t all that great, but matched up against Seamus Coleman, I figured it might get much worse. His lack of pace was troublesome at times but never so much as to give anything away. Did get forward pretty well too, as he often found himself with acres of space to roam in.. LB. Arsenal FC. NACHO MONREAL

7.6. MAN OF THE MATCH. Oh, look, Granit Xhaka yet again did his job, failed to do anything stupid and proved that his passing was as pinpoint as ever, even sublime at times. Have to admire this guy. The spotlight has not been kind to him, as numerous talking heads out there are criticizing him, but he keeps doing his job. He was the marshal in the middle of the pitch. He dictated the flow of the game and was such a calming presence when we needed it.. MID. Arsenal FC. GRANIT XHAKA

7.3. Solid display from Coquelin. Many were saying that Le Coq looked much improved from last years version and I would agree. His positioning, his touch, everything just looks much better than what we were used to seeing. And he supposedly has a new contract, so that’s always cool.. MID. Arsenal FC. FRANCIS COQUELIN

5.8. Convince me that Theo Walcott was in this game. I dare you. I know you can’t. The man did nothing. He was outplayed by Hector Bellerin and the Spaniard didn’t even have his best game. Walcott only touched the ball 25 times in 70 minutes. That is ridiculous. I get that he isn’t a creator but you have to find space or something because this was bad.. MID. Arsenal FC. THEO WALCOTT

I saw a Mesut Ozil I never want to see again. His passes were finding blue shirts more than they were finding red ones. His deep positioning may be to blame for this, but whatever the case, it was not a promising display. He should have scored a goal to put Arsenal up 2-1 but he skied it. He was wide open. He just looked tired. I don’t like tired Ozil and that’s what we saw here against Everton.. MID. Arsenal FC. MESUT OZIL. 5.9

It was a curious display from the Ox because I wanted more from him. I felt like the attack just wasn’t going his way but when he did get the ball, he was just as lively as ever. Seemed a bit put-off when he didn’t have the ball though and wish he showed a little more of the Alexis-like effort we’ve seen in recent matches.. MID. Arsenal FC. ALEX OXLADE-CHAMBERLAIN. 6.2

ST. Arsenal FC. ALEXIS SANCHEZ. 7.5. He did what he could. His free kick may have been feeble, but it did enough to find the back of the net, so what else do we need? His effort is insane. This game was made for him. Feel like he just needed a bit more from the guys around him to truly come into his own here. Chance missed.

Arsenal FC. OLIVIER GIROUD. 6.0. Had nothing to do. Wenger has to find a way to start using Giroud more because these types of games can be massively impacted by his first touch and hold-up ability. He just wasn’t given any chances to do anything.. ST

6.1. Was trying so hard to make things happen and he deserves major credit for that. Definitely deserved to score when his ball was nauseatingly cleared off the line. Positive displays from the young man.. MID. Arsenal FC. ALEX IWOBI