Five Things Learnt from Arsenal’s win
Gunners saw off Everton 2-1 at Emirates Stadium
Arsenal sit top of the Premier League tree going into Sunday’s matches thanks to a 2-1 win against Everton on Saturday evening.
Goals in the first-half from Olivier Giroud and Laurent Koscielny were enough to see Arsene Wenger‘s men pick up another three points following their sensational win against Bayern Munich on Tuesday.
A Ross Barkley goal made the game more nervy than it could have been, but the Toffees couldn’t get the second goal to leave Emirates with a point.
So what stood out from the 2-1 win?
Here are Five Things that SillySeason learnt from Arsenal‘s win.
5) Gabriel Paulista Can Become A Legend
After Per Mertesacker fell ill….again, it allowed Gabriel Paulista to make his return to the Arsenal first-team following his short stint on the sidelines through injury.
His partnership with Laurent Koscielny is blossoming with each game they play together, and Gabriel is quickly becoming a club hero.
Although it was he who deflected Barkley’s goal into the back of the net, which you can’t blame him for, overall he had a great game and was able to keep Romelu Lukaku out of the game.
A brilliant moment from Gabriel came in the 92nd minute when he made a tackle and clearance and celebrated like he had just won Arsenal the title.
His passion will make him a club legend in no time.
4) Everton Are A Counter-Attack Team
With the likes of Ross Barkley, Aaron Lennon and Gerard Deulofeu, Everton can certainly spring a counter-attack onto their opponents.
Their lone-goal at the Emirates Stadium last night came from out of nowhere and on a couple of occasions they did look scary on the counter with the pace on either flank.
Barkley is the spearhead and the driving force, while having pace like Lennon and Deulofeu either side of him, Roberto Martinez’s men could really hurt some teams on the counter.
Sadly for them, they couldn’t be effective with it last night.
3) Petr Cech Saves Points
Overall it was a fairly quiet night for Petr Cech. He made a couple of saves but nothing too major.
However, there was one point when Everton could have snatched a point but they were denied by this man.
He was helpless for the Toffees goal due to the massive deflection, but when Gerard Deulofeu got the ball unmarked in the penalty area, it looked certain that Everton were about to pull level.
Nope.
Cech got down low and denied the Spaniard keeping the scores at 2-1 and eventually winning the game for Arsenal.
What a signing he’s been.
2) Mesut Ozil Being Lazy is a Myth
Now this guy might not run as much as Alexis Sanchez, but you cannot call him lazy if you actually watch him play.
He was everywhere last night. Down the wings, in the box, in the number-10 role, he was just everywhere and working hard for the team.
Yet another assist as well capped off another successful night for the German, who’s certainly in the form of his life in an Arsenal shirt.
He might not look enthused or dedicated, but he’s certainly not lazy.
1) Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott Could Be Enough
People ridiculed Arsene Wenger for not signing a striker over the summer, but it’s seemingly showing that he was right not to.
Olivier Giroud started the game last night and managed to net the opener with a glancing header, but in recent weeks, both himself and Theo Walcott have been finding the net.
The two offer such differences for Arsenal that it actually gives them a Plan B.
Theo Walcott will run the channels and look to get in behind the defenders, while Giroud is better with his back to goal and holding up the play for Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez to overlap him.
Arsenal play differently depending on who’s up top and so far, both ways are working.
So there are our Five Things from the Arsenal vs Everton game.
What did you think of the match?
Written by Alex Batt – @AlexBatt