2 positives & negatives from Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat at Everton

It was a frustrating match for the Gunners as they fell to just their second Premier League defeat of the season at Everton on Saturday.

The Toffees were able to benefit from a new manager bounce with Sean Dyche taking charge in his first match for the club, and what a way for him to get started! They had a great game plan, and Arsenal were unable to break them down

2 positives & negatives from Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat at Everton

Some good and some bad from the loss, so let’s get into it.

Positive #1: Exception, not the rule

Arsenal played poorly and lost, and yet, I’m personally not too bothered. It was a frustrating match and performance, but this has proven to be the exception to our season, not the rule.

If Arsenal are the great team we think they are, that loss has only further fueled the fire; they’ll come out swinging next weekend against Brentford in front of a lively Emirates crowd, desperate to get back on track.

If Mikel Arteta’s words are anything to go by, this team will not go away. I also just love this sentiment from the boss; this team is very connected and united under their goal. They want to win the Premier League.

Negative #1: The result, obviously

It sucks to lose, especially to lesser competition. That’s three points dropped now from teams in the relegation zone, which will hopefully not become a trend.

That being said, Manchester City also dropped points to Everton, and they were playing at home against a far less effective tactical setup under Frank Lampard, so it’s far from the end of the world.

Credit has to go to Everton; they played their game and played it well, even beating the Gunners on xG despite boasting only 30% possession. Their use of space and forming Dyche’s famous 4-4-2 made it so hard to get through, which led to the win for the Merryside team, all credit to them.

Getting more creators on the pitch would surely help the Gunners in matches like this. Bringing on a player like Fabio Vieira for Granit Xhaka rather than Martin Ødegaard would allow Arsenal to attack from more angles and have the potential for more potent attacks.

Continued on the next slide…