EMERY WAS ABOUT TO SUB ALEX ...BUT THEN HE SCORED
UNAI EMERY admitted he was just about to haul off Alexandre Lacazette before the Arsenal striker scored his wonder goal.
Gunners boss Emery was preparing to bring on Alex Iwobi to breathe life into Arsenal’s performance when Lacazette rifled a 56th-minute opener.
The France star’s stunning shot helped the Gunners make it four wins in a row to move into sixth place but keeper Petr Cech was the real hero, making a string of brilliant saves to keep a clean sheet.
Emery said: “Yes (I was about to make a substitution) because we needed change. We needed another individual quality, another individual pushing forward. But he produced the goal and I decided to think again.” When pressed whether it was Lacazette who was coming off, Emery smiled: “Maybe, yes.”
Emery also paid tribute to man-of-the-match Cech after six stunning saves that broke Everton hearts.
Emery added: “He is in perfect form and today he showed us what he can do.
“The victory is very important. We can analyse the match over 90 minutes but first the victory.”
Gunners started the season with back-to-back defeats against Manchester City and Chelsea but have won all their games since.
Arsenal defender Sokratis went off with a knee injury and will have a scan today but Emery said he did not think it was a serious problem.