By Jahid Islam
Hello there readers of We Love You Arsenal! I’m Jahid (@JahidFullStop) back with an article today looking ahead to the Everton game! I know it kicks off in a bit, but here’s a sneaky little piece that you can read on the tube, the bus to the pub, or on the way to the couch right before the game to get you up to speed.
Keep reading to find out my picks for the players to watch, plus my match prediction. Let me know if you agree or disagree in the comments and/or socials!
First of all, the history. Goodison park. A boogey-man-esque ground for us in recent times with a return of just 1 point from our last 5 trips to the blue side of Liverpool. Yikes. I still remember that 90th minute Demarai Gray dagger a few seasons back that brought me to my knees howling. Thank God he’s gone.
In fact you’ve got to go back to October 2017 for our last win against them on their home turf. A 2-5 win courtesy of goals by Nacho Monreal, Mesut Ozil, Alex Lacazette, Alexis Sanchez, and Aaron Ramsey. I miss those days, like a kidnap victim who fondly reminisces about his captor in a bad case of Stockholm Syndrome.
But let’s be frank. Our club’s come leaps and bounds from those troubling times of the post-Wenger era. Gone are the inconsistencies in performance, the over reliance on a couple of key players, and the weak mentality. We’re now a fully fledged title challenging outfit with quality in each position and a manager with a certain four letter word beginning with ‘A’ and rhyming with ‘Sara’.
Everton’s form under Dychey-boi this season has been woeful so far, with one point from their opening four games of the season; a 2-2 draw with Sheffield Utd away being their only salvo. On the other hand we’re as of yet undefeated despite Arteta’s endless experiments with formations, players and tactics. A loss would be a huge upset regardless of the history.
Key players to watch:
For Arsenal:
Keep an eye on Martin Odegaard, the attacking midfielder’s reinventing himself as a goal scoring midfielder with low driven shots hit first time and curling past the keeper. It’ll be interesting to see whether he drops deeper as a traditional playmaker, or chooses to play more advanced vs Everton’s traditional low block.
Gabriel Jesus has bagged against the toffees in almost every game he’s played against them, but his creativity might allow other Havertz or Odegaard to play further forward and get on the end of chances themselves.
For Everton:
Beto’s come out of relative nowhere and was impressive against Sheffield Utd. His imposing figure might be an issue for Gabriel who looked to struggle at times against another big striker in Hojlund. He’ll be a nuisance all game with his hold up play and dribbling, as well as a target for crosses and cut-backs from out wide.
Nathan Patterson - Right back by name, but a very attacking one at that. He doesn’t shy from a duel, and he’ll be right up on the byline offering width to the 4-4-2. I don’t know much about him before this season, nor do I know much now, but he seems to be an important part of that Everton side.
I predict a 3-1 win for Arsenal. Gabriel, Odegaard, and Saka to bag, with Havertz pulling off an assist and an overall decent performance. Beto to score for Everton, on the end of a cross or cut-back from either wing.
Thanks for reading! Let me know if you agree or disagree in the comments and/or through our socials, I’ve been Jahid (@JahidFullStop) and I’ll see you in the next one!
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