Arsenal 4-0 Everton: Player Ratings as Gunners demolish Toffees

Arsenal took full advantage of their game in hand, beating Everton 4-0 at the Emirates to position themselves five points clear at the top of the Premier League.

The game started slowly for the Gunners, with Everton looking like the better side for most of the first half. However, just before the halftime whistle, Arsenal fired themselves into action, starting an onslaught that lasted for the remainder of the tie.

Despite an aggressive and up-for-it pairing of Alex Iwobi and Neal Maupay, the Arsenal centre-back pairing, who were seen arguing at the end of the Leicester game, performed in symphony, shutting down any dangerous attacks.

The switched-on defense allowed the rest of the team to wake up in what would culminate in a rocket of a finish from Saka. Zinchenko picking up the ball on the right side, slotted a pass into the star winger, who finished the ball into the roof of the net with his weak foot.

Saka inspired the team to push on, with captain Martin Odegaard joining the scoresheet with Martinelli netting two of his own.

https://twitter.com/Arsenal/status/1631046630068699141?s=20

The second half was a clinic by Arsenal. Already up 2-0, Mikel Arteta took off the underperforming Jorginho for the revamped Thomas Partey. The Ghanaian International’s presence was felt instantly. Partey was a rock defensively but took a while to warm up on the attacking side of the ball.

The third goal came from a lovely assist by new signing Trossard, who served the Norwegian captain a lovely ball to bury in the goal to make the lead 3-0

The game pressed on with Arsenal seeping into full flow. Further substitutions of Vieira and Nketiah proved fruitful, with the latter making surging runs in behind, narrowly missing opportunities to score, and creating the dagger that Martinelli slotted home.

It was complete team performance is the way to describe the victory. Sean Dyche did an incredible job in the previous match-up, but the implementation of the Martinelli and Trossard partnership allowed Arsenal to take advantage of tight spaces leading to goals.

Arsenal 4-0 Everton Player Ratings.

Goalkeeper and Defenders

Ramsdale 7/10:

Ramsdale had a quiet evening, not for lack of effort or quality but because Everton could not muster up an abundance of dangerous opportunities. The English keeper did have a few crucial saves, such as stopping a Dwight McNeil powerful shot in the 61st minute. An all-around good performance and a clean sheet from Arsenal’s number 1.

Zinchenko 8/10:

The inverted left-back was at his best this evening. A solid defensive effort on Everton’s main man Alex Iwobi. Furthermore, the Ukrainian supplied the quality pass to Saka that opened the Gunners’ scoring. Zinchenko was everywhere, controlling the tempo of Arsenal’s play. The defender tacked on another special highlight, playing in Nketiah behind the defense before he slotted the ball to Martinelli, who finished off the game. Stellar performance.

Gabriel 8/10:

The Brazilian battled from the start with the likes of Neil Maupay. Although the Everton attack never seemed threatening, Gabriel made a handful of high-quality challenges. Maupay ran through on goal and could have changed the game without a lunging slide tackle from the defender—a rock-solid performance.

Saliba – 9/10:

Saliba has been immense since arriving at the club. Although the performances of late have yet to meet the initial outing of the season against Everton, the Frenchman was at his best. He won his aerial duels, was comfortable on the ball, and made no mistakes—a great performance by the centre-back.

White 7/10:

Ben White had a quality performance. Solid support for the backline and was able to link with the midfield and overlap Saka on occasions—another good performance in the books for the ex-centre-back.

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