Everton 0-0 Arsenal
No goals, no real quality, and not much entertainment were on show on Merseyside as Everton and Arsenal played out a goalless draw in front of their new head coaches.
In the weekend curtain-raiser, Premier League: Everton vs Arsenal was a bit of a flop. But all eyes were away from the pitch, as new Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti was in the stands to run the rule over his players, and Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta was also in attendance.
At times, the 40,000-person crowd at Goodson Park would have been excused for dropping off during a game pretty much devoid of inspiration and goalmouth drama. The Everton vs Arsenal highlights package will be around 30 seconds long!
Highlights of the game
In a first half of very little quality, it took almost 20 minutes for either side to have a shot on goal. Gylfi Sigurdsson fired a free-kick a foot wide of Bernd Leno’s right-hand post.
Arsenal offered nothing in terms of attacking football in the first half-hour but they remained largely untroubled at the back.
The Gunners’ defence was ripped apart last week by Manchester City’s Kevin de Bruyne, but despite rarely getting out of their own half, they were coping well enough with Everton’s attacks. Lucas Digne’s long throws were being deployed as often as the Toffees could, but they struggled to carve out a clear-cut opening.
Turkish striker Cenk Tosun headed straight at Leno from a tight angle when a nod back into the danger area would have been a better option.
Arsenal finally had their first shot of the match a shot a minute before the break. Lucas Torreira curled a lovely ball around the Everton defence only for Gabriel Martinelli to shoot wide from a good position.
After an uninspiring first 45 minutes, Arsenal came out for the second half looking much sharper. Pierre Emerick-Aubamayang had two early efforts: the first a close-range shot tipped over the bar by Jordan Pickford, and the second an attempt from the edge of the box comfortably held by the Everton and England keeper.
The Gunners were in the ascendency, but Everton fought back. Half ay through the second half, Torreira put in a superb block to deny Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin. There was a tense wait for VAR to confirm that Torreira hadn’t handled and the Toffees’ hopes for a cheap penalty were dashed.
The second half was played at a much higher tempo than the first, but neither side looked likely to break the deadlock, and when a chance came to Martinelli on 83 minutes, the Brazilian forward blazed his shot well over the bar.
On 89 minutes, Everton’s Tom Davies took a 30-yard pot shot but it rolled tamely wide… and that just about summed up the game.
Key statistics
This is a new dawn for Everton and Arsenal but the match which was a poor advert for SBOBET Premier League 2019 watchers. The first half, in particular, illustrated just how much both sides need a lift. Arsenal had slightly more possession but only managed to muster one shot to Everton’s five, while neither goalkeeper was troubled.
The Gunners had two efforts on target in the second half, but they will be more pleased by the fact that they have registered a first clean sheet in 15 matches.
The pre-match Everton vs Arsenal betting odds pitched the draw at 3.50 and it was never really in doubt!
What’s next?
So Carlo Ancelotti and Mikel Arteta have seen their new sides in action and, on this evidence, both have plenty of work to do.
Next up, the Toffees are at home again on Boxing Day, when Burnley are the visitors. That is followed by back-to-back away games at Newcastle and then a New Year’s Day trip to Manchester City. It’s a tough start for Ancelotti but not one which will faze him.
Down at the Emirates, Arteta has already hinted he is prepared to be ruthless in his new job at his old club, saying: “They have to accept a different process of thinking. We have to build a culture that has to sustain the rest. If we don’t have the right culture then the tree is going to shake.”
The Gunners have an opportunity to impress their new boss when they head to the south coast to take on injury-ravaged Bournemouth on Boxing Day. And then, they have two huge home games: a big London derby against Chelsea next Sunday, and then their old foes Manchester United are the visitors on New Year’s Day.
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