IN AUBA DRIVE
New £55m striker shines as Ramsey nets treble
ON EVENINGS like this, Arsenal are wonderful to behold. And if the manager was not 68 years of age, you would be tempted to say a new era was dawning and a fresh assault on the Premier League might be building.
Aaron Ramsey scored a hat-trick yet could easily have been challenged for man of the match by Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who was outstanding.
Pierre Emerick Aubameyang scored on his debut — an offside goal, admittedly, but it stood — with the most-impudent finish.
And Mesut Ozil was revived and refreshed by his new team-mates, impishly evading Everton and dictating affairs.
At times, it looked like the Arsenal of old, like those wonderful teams Arsene Wenger coaxed into existence in his first ten years in this country.
And maybe a change has come. Maybe those more experienced players of proven quality will bring the fortitude missing from the last ten years of Wenger’s reign.
Man-of-the-match Ramsey certainly thinks so, saying: ‘It was a great response, we needed that after the loss at Swansea.
‘Everyone was at it — and when everyone is at it, we are quality. Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan were brilliant today, you can see their link-up play.
‘If that is not him (Aubameyang) at 100 per cent, then we have got a player on our hands. Plus Mkhitaryan got a few assists. Hopefully, there is a lot more to come and we can finish the season strongly.’
No one doubts Arsenal’s talent; it is their temperament that is in question and which Aubamayang and Mkhitaryan have been bought to improve. Still, their debutants had as gentle an introduction to The Emirates imaginable. Everton were awful.
Just six minutes in, Ozil slipped the ball into Aubameyang, who touched it on to his former Borussia Dortmund team-mate Mkhitaryan. Dashing down the right, he eluded Everton and crossed for Ramsey, who walked it into the net.
Three minutes later, Mkhitaryan shot just wide and then Aubameyang scuffed a chance. No matter, on 14 minutes Ozil’s corner was flicked on by Shkodran Mustafi and was met by the diving head of Laurent Koscielny to score.
Alex Iwobi and Ozil, with work down the left, carved out the third. The space afforded Ramsey to tee up his strike from 20 yards out will not be an easy watch for Sam Allardyce in his video analysis. The Welshman’s shot hit debutant Eliaquim Mangala and deceived Jordan Pickford.
All that really remained to make it the perfect half was a goal for Arsenal’s £55million record signing. He fluffed the first great chance on 32 minutes but that only made the poise and confidence of his finish on 37 minutes all the more special.
It was, however, a good half-yard offside, something assistant referee Con Hatzidakis somehow missed. Still, that aside, the striker announced himself in some style
Played in by Mkhitaryan — again — and clean through, he opted for the delicate chip over Pickford. It was a delightful finish.
Everton decided to make a fight of it after the break and they even hit a post on 52 minutes through Oumar Niasse but the visitors eventually benefited from Arsenal slackening off on 64 minutes as Yannick Bolasie lifted in a cross which was met superbly by Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Arsenal did, however, restore their four-goal advantage on 75 minutes. Everton failed to clear and Mkhitaryan pounced, crossed and Ramsey was on hand to stroke the ball in and complete his first hat-trick.
Everton boss Allardyce couldn’t hide his anger at full-time, saying: ‘I’ve got an uphill battle in trying to get them more consistent, get them to their best level.
‘It’s no good playing OK in the second half, getting a goal and trying to make the score look respectable. It’s far too late.
‘It was a pathetic, pathetic first-half performance.’
ARSENAL (4-4-2): Cech (Ospina 70); Bellerin, Koscielny, Mustafi, Monreal (Kolasinac 45); Ramsey (Wilshere 75), Xhaka, Mkhitaryan, Ozil; Iwobi, Aubameyang. Subs (not used): Lacazette, Chambers, Maitland-Niles, Elneny. Booked: Mustafi, Koscielny.
EVERTON (4-3-1-2): Pickford; Keane (Davies 45), Williams, Mangala, Kenny; Schneiderlin, Gueye, Martina; Walcott (CalvertLewin 61); Niasse (Tosun 78), Bolasie. Subs (not used): Robles, Rooney, Sigurdsson, Holgate. Booked: None. Referee: Neil Swarbrick. Attendance: 59,306.