Arsenal: 4 talking points from miserable Everton defeat

Arsenal recorded their ninth home defeat of the season as they threw away their exceedingly faint European hopes once and for all with a limp 1-0 defeat to Everton. Here are the talking points.

What is there to be said that hasn’t already been said? Normally when it comes to unpacking Arsenal performances from this season the same grumblings and excuses can be made. The latter are running thin.

Hosting Carlo Ancelotti’s side at the Emirates – a team that hadn’t tasted victory in any of their previous six outings – despite the Toffees sitting above their opponents in the Premier League table their weak form presented Arsenal with the chance to gain confidence heading into Thursday.

It was a dominant display from the Gunners. Dominant in the sense of control and ball possession, not in terms of threat. Dominic Calvert-Lewin came close after two minutes but that was all the danger Everton posed on the night, barring Gylfi Sigurdsson’s free-kick kissing the top of the bar.

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4 talking points as Arsenal slump to miserable 1-0 Everton defeat in the Premier League

Hogging the ball and struggling to break down their opponents’ block, Bukayo Saka shot straight at Jordan Pickford and Dani Ceballos’ 20-yard drive forced a decent save from the goalkeeper, in a tame performance that produced little goal-mouth action.

The Spaniard thought he had won a soft penalty to give Arsenal some reprieve, yet VAR ruled Nicolas Pepe was offside in the build-up, despite umpteen passes being made between that phase and Ceballos being felled in the box.

Bernd Leno then topped off all of his other howlers with a world-class gaff, gifting Everton a goal and ultimately three points. Gabriel Martinelli came closest after that with a low effort, but it was far too little, far too late.

It’s a result that, with others to come, could see Arsenal drop into 11th by the end of the matchweek.

Eleventh.

Kroenke Out Protests Take Centre Stage

Matters outside the Emirates Stadium in the hours building up to the fixture were far more worthy of air time than those taking place in it.

A supremely drab affair rarely ever came to life, totally countering the strong messages being displayed outside. Banners, chanting and flares were all on show as Arsenal fans vehemently opposed their ownership with one clear message: ‘get out of our club’.

Thousands of supporters gathered on Hornsey Road, aiming to force the Kroenke’s to act like the custodians of the club they promised to be. A passive (careless) approach to ownership with no inkling of investment has led to fan disgruntlement for years on end, the like that reached boiling point with the decision to breakaway and join the Super League without any consultation with their ‘customers’.

It was an impressive protest that even had supporters of other clubs joining in, and a dire performance on the pitch will have done nothing to lift the gloomy mood within the fanbase.

One can hope that the injury-stricken Arsenal team playing as poorly as they did may convince KSE to either dip their hands in their pockets or pack up and run: this team is bad and we have to stop it losing us more money, or, this team is bad and we’ve got to get out.

Eddie Nketiah Wastes His Chance

Is it fair for fans to have expected much from Eddie Nketiah, or was the disappointing showing from the 21-year-old no more than supporters have come to expect?

A little bit of column A and a little bit of column B.

Starting well, Nketiah hounded down the ball and pressed intently as he has done throughout his time in a Gunners shirt, seeking to force errors in Everton’s first line of defence and get his side pushing up the pitch.

That positive opening faded quickly.

In terms of hold-up play, link-up play and back-to-goal instances, Nketiah failed to excite. He struggled against the centre-back pairing of Mason Holgate and Ben Godfrey, coming out second best on near every occasion, while even the work-rate he has to fall back exited his game.

Mikel Arteta could be heard trying to keep the forward in the game, bellowing words of encouragement at him when fitness and belief had dissipated. If there were any doubts before there are no more now: Nketiah will be sold in the summer.

This is, of course, his first start in the Premier League since facing the same opposition on matchday 14, but with a decision on Folarin Balogun’s future made, his time will come to and end.

Bernd Leno’s Shocking Mistake His Pièce de Résistance

Forget Emiliano Martinez, that debate is boring and tiresome. He’s gone now, everyone has to get over it, whether or not it’s clear the more well-rounded keeper was sold or not, and regardless of whether the club’s hand was forced with the £20m offer. It’s in the past.

Leno is at Arsenal and he’s the number one. He better start showing it.

Is the German a good goalkeeper? Take out all of the mistakes he’s made and he’s more than good. He’s very good.

Unfortunately football doesn’t work like that. It just doesn’t. As a goalkeeper, the final blockade of your own goal, every error is catapulted into the spotlight. They do get the short end of the stick in that regard, but one can’t overlook the sheer volume of mistakes Leno has made at Arsenal.

Already this season he’s been guilty of calamity: Rapid Vienna, Olympiacos and Wolves being just a handful of the offerings he’s dished up. None quite match up to Friday, truly his pièce de résistance.

If it hadn’t have cost Arsenal a point or brought the mood down as deeply as it had, you’d laugh. Hysterically. Any opposing fans have every right to split their sides, it was inexplicably atrocious.

Will it be out of his system for Thursday, or lodged deep into his mind ready to affect each and every touch?

What Good is VAR For?

It feels wrong to blame VAR, or perhaps not blame it but at least mention it, since what is taking place on the pitch is Arsenal’s doing, not the technology. That doesn’t mean if it b*ggered off and never came back the world would be weeping into a family size tub of Ben & Jerry’s, though. It’s getting beyond silly.

That is now two matches in a row where Arsenal have been on the wrong end of a guess. And guess is the right word since the lines drawn up for Saka and Pepe for the goal against Fulham and Everton penalty are impossible to call. Drawing up the lines and still not being able to tell, we can defend the technology and state it’s just enforcing the rules but nobody in their right mind and realistically give an answer on those two occasions.

Furthermore, there goes on to be a whole sequence of passing after Pepe receives possession before Ceballos turns into an amateur c-list Shakespearean theatre performer. It’s so tiresome and affects every team up and down the country.

But we digress. Arsenal were lifeless, laboured and, worst of all, tired. There was some decent football on occasion but nothing the shout home about. Would one of Lacazette or Aubameyang made a difference? Quite possibly, but who is to know. All we know is what is on the pitch, and that isn’t anywhere good enough.