FLAT GUNNERS Arteta’s challenge hits bump in the road at Goodison
ARSENAL were given a reminder that Premier League titles are not handed out in February. Mikel Arteta’s pacesetters strode into Goodison Park with a swagger that suggested they had done enough to take home three points by simply turning up.
Ninety minutes later, the Gunners boss had to rush on to the pitch to prevent Oleksandr Zinchenko from making a defeat at Everton even worse by getting into a confrontation with referee David Coote.
Zinchenko had been lucky to escape with just a yellow card in the dying seconds for an off-the-ball swipe at Neal Maupay as the Gunners’ attempts at trying to cancel out James Tarkowski’s header descended into desperation.
Luckily for the Ukrainian, his manager recognised the signs and ushered him away from the match officials while Goodison celebrated.
Arteta said: “This journey is going to be challenging and there’s going to be big stones in the middle that we have to overcome.
“What we must do is understand who we are, understand how we got where we are and then start to do the basic things right again.
“If we start to do better, individually and collectively, then you earn the right to win games.
“In the last 10 or 15 minutes, after we made the changes, we started to give away free-kicks and made a lot of rash decisions.
“I think Everton were really good.we have to congratulate them for how they’ve turned things around and how they made it difficult to win the game.
“But from our side it’s disappointing because we didn’t get the result that we wanted.
“And the performance also didn’t reflect what we’ve been doing.
“I want the team to know how much I love them.” Arteta would
have known what was coming after thousands of Everton fans protested about Farhad Moshiri’s ownership outside the stadium before going inside to turn Goodison into a bear pit.
After all,arteta was the darling of the Gwladys Street for six years as a player.
But his players just were not up for the scrap – and if Manchester City win at Tottenham then Arteta will really feel Pep Guardiola’s breath on the back of his neck.
Apart from a first-half Bukayo Saka volley that was hacked off the goalline by Conor Coady, the visitors rarely threatened.
Frank Lampard would have been watching the game from his favourite chair wondering why the players that got him sacked waited until Dyche’s first game in charge to bare their teeth.
Tarkowski and Coady were superb in central defence and, in midfield, the outstanding Amadou Onana just shaded Idrissa Gueye and Abdoulaye Doucoure.
It was also Dwight Mcneil’s best game in an Everton shirt since joining the club from Burnley. It was fitting that the goal that won the game on the hour had the stamp of Turf Moor.
Mcneil’s corner enabled Tarkowski to shrug off Martin Odegaard and bullet home a meaty header. It was his first goal since scoring for Dyche’s Burnley on the opening day of last season.
Dyche might have feared the worst when Dominic Calvert-lewin and Doucoure both failed to make the most of glaring first-half opportunities.
But Everton eventually got what they deserved – and were immediately warned by their manager that this can only be the start. “I’ve already told the players that when they come in on Monday they will be working hard,” said Dyche. “It’s a great start – but that’s all it is.this performance was built on belief.the minimum I ask for is effort – and they have given total effort today.
“I respect the views of the fans and the fact that they still came here to show their support for Everton Football Club.
“They gave us momentum at the start of the game and they gave us respite in the times when we needed it.”