The shining light for Arsenal from dire Everton loss

As soon as one problem disappears, another one emerges. As soon as one player finds form, another falls off the wagon. It’s like Newton’s third law at Arsenal.

Crumbling to a 2-1 defeat at Everton that could so easily have been 4-1 were it not for Richarlison forgetting his toenail clippers back at the hotel, the negatives heavily outweighed the positives on Monday night.

Toxicity returned to cast a dark shadow over a club that had only ever briefly seen the sun on occasional bursts through the clouds. It is nowhere near as soul destroying as the period experienced across last Autumn last season, but the fear grows of a similarly heavy downpour being forecast soon.

There is usually always something vaguely positive to draw from even the worst of defeats. Goodison Park saw decent enough showings from Takehiro Tomiyasu, Gabriel Martinelli and Kieran Tierney, with not much else.

Martin Odegaard was the shining light for Arsenal from their dire 2-1 loss to Everton in the Premier League at Goodison Park

Other than them, the only real shining light from a grim and sodden evening orchestrated by Mikel Arteta was Martin Odegaard.

Alexandre Lacazette became the short-term fix to a long-term problem when he came into the side from the Crystal Palace game onwards, a stint that came to an end in the 2-0 win over Newcastle. The Norwegian grew into that match, just as he did shortly after against Manchester United.

That performance was marred by a moment of stupidity to give away a penalty that turned out to be the winning goal. Just prior to that he’d scored a well taken equaliser, and had begun to find the pockets of space he needs to impact matches. Moment of madness aside, there were encouraging signs.

Given the nod once more against Everton, Odegaard was the best player on the pitch for Arsenal on a night where the impressions of one man were never going to be enough to see the result change.

Lauding the work of Lacazette and Aubameyang for what they ‘transmit’ at Arsenal, Arteta must have drawn pleasure from the leadership demonstrated by the 22-year-old. From the first minute he looked engaged, marshalling the rest of the team to squeeze up the pitch for an Everton throw-in in their own half.

If an Everton attack broke down and possession was recycled to the centre-back, Odegaard was the first one to charge at the man on the ball, usually with a daydreaming Lacazette watching on from close by.

Switched on from minute one, it took time for him to make any imprint on the match due to the dearth of progressive distribution through the lines to him. Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka rarely even attempted to pick him out, as shown in Odegaard receiving four progressive passes all match – half the amount of his teammate Lacazette.

But there was more to Odegaard’s display that solace can be drawn from, the like which is one of few encouraging aspects from a miserable team performance.

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Martin Odegaard Finds an Eye for Goal When Strikers Don’t

Arsenal have scored 18 goals in 15 Premier League matches this season despite facing five of the current bottom seven. Goals are a serious problem.

The majority of the final tally should be shared among the more direct forwards in the team. In two matches Odegaard has more goals than Lacazette and Nicolas Pepe have managed combined in the league all season.

He also has more than Bukayo Saka. The numbers are increasingly worrying.

So heavens knows Arsenal need him to keep this scoring feat up. They haven’t just been tap-ins either, with a wonderful free-kick out of nothing at Turf Moor followed by two very composed finishes away from home in succession. While a goal per game is clearly unsustainable, at least there is someone in the team who you can look at and see potential threat.

This is rather obviously crucial. You’ve got strikers who either miss chances or don’t get them, a malfunctioning midfield and deep-rooted systematic issues that make chance creation a rare commodity you only get if someone mistakenly bumps you up to first class.

Well timed runs for both his previous two goals show another string to his bow, but on the whole he had a solid evening at Goodison Park, one full of delightful touches, flicks and movements into space.

There has always been a highly talented player there. This season he’s been used in deeper roles that haven’t suited his skillset, so earning a regular run in the No. 10 slot as he is means there is more to come from him. Given the amount of time he’s been present in the footballing world, it’s easy to forget his young age: he’s only turning 23 in December.

Still with a way to go, a third match consecutively playing in this position has resulted in two goals from open play. At least one area of the pitch needn’t be changed for the weekend.