RAFA IS ON CLOUD NINE
Gray stunner takes heat off Benitez as Toffees fight back
DEMARAI GRAY scored a stunning stoppage-time winner to earn Everton their first victory in nine games and transform the mood around Goodison Park.
Everton were heading for another home defeat when Martin Odegaard struck for Arsenal.
Richarlison, though, levelled with 10 minutes remaining.
Then, in added time, Gray cut in from the left, beat two men and fired home off the inside of the post.
It was a superb goal and worthy of winning any match.
Goodison went wild and suddenly all the negativity from their hammering in the Merseyside derby was forgotten as the Everton fans celebrated.
After being beaten by his former club Liverpool last Wednesday, Toffees boss Rafa Benitez will feel this is a start on the long road back.
The atmosphere was decidedly more upbeat at the end after a muted protest during the game and owner Farhad Moshiri’s no-show.
Yerry Mina lasted 31 minutes on his comeback after two months out when he suffered a recurrence of his thigh injury.
But Everton got a huge break when Ben Godfrey escaped a red card for standing on Takehiro Tomiyasu’s face.
Having seen off director of football Marcel Brands, Benitez again stamped his authority by axeing Lucas Digne for the first time in his Blues career and bringing Godfrey in.
The planned walk-out on 27 minutes by Everton fans in a protest at the board, and the failure to win a trophy in 27 years, came to little and only a couple of hundred left.
Those supporters who remained thought Richarlison had given Everton the lead two minutes before half-time when he headed home Andros Townsend’s free-kick, only for the effort to be disallowed by VAR for offside against the Brazilian.
To compound Everton’s misery, Arsenal took the lead in the second
minute of first-half stoppage time from their first meaningful attack.
Defender Kieran Tierney escaped down the left and crossed for Odegaard to volley home expertly.
Gabriel should have scored a second for Arsenal when he was left unmarked at the back post and he headed weakly at Jordan Pickford.
Everton thought their luck was completely out when Richarlison had a second effort ruled out for a hairline offside decision.
Despite the jeers from the Everton supporters, both VAR calls were right and the second disallowed goal galvanised the home crowd to get behind their team. The goal finally came in the 79th minute when Gray’s shot hit the bar and Richarlison headed the rebound home. Eddie Nketiah then hit the post before Gray snatched the winner. Alex Iwobi went close to a third in the dying seconds.