Leandro Trossard’s goal finished Arsenal’s woeful run at Goodison Park
The Belgium international’s next league goal for the club he joined in
January was a pitiful return for the Gunners’ dominance, but it was sufficient to end a run of four losses and a draw in L4.
But it was enough to extend their unblemished streak and pull them within two points of the league’s leaders, Manchester City, and only behind Tottenham and Liverpool in goal differential.
For a team who enjoyed so much possession, Mikel Arteta’s side generated very little with it until Trossard’s 69th-minute breakthrough – highlighted by starting centre-forward Eddie Nketiah’s paltry 10 touches prior to he was withdrawn three minutes before the goal.
Gabriel Martinelli’s first-half strike was ruled out for offside because of his lay-off returning from an offside position. Arsenal will have wished he had one less because of this.
On rent David Raya, who made his debut for Brentford as part of Mike Arteta’s succession policy between the posts, was similarly underutilized, and Arteta will have learned little about his fellow Spaniard against an Everton team devoid of offensive intent and shots on goal.
However, squeaking out a victory on a pitch that has recently proven to be a major obstacle for the north Londoners will have given the Gunners manager some gratification, and the away fans sang their approval of a scoreline with which they have become synonymous.
Not so for his Everton adversary Sean Dyche, whose team has now lost all three home games this season, has one point, remains in the bottom three, and faces a third consecutive relegation battle.
While they posed little realistic threat, they did little wrong in frustrating their opponents for extended stretches, and the return of Dominic Calvert-Lewin as a second-half substitute and Dwight McNeil starting his first game of the season should be cause for optimism.
With only two goals, both scored against Sheffield United prior to the international break, and summer signing Beto displaying every bit of the “rawness” Dyche claimed he possessed, something must be done to strengthen the attack.
The same could be said for Arsenal on this occasion, as they did not really pick up the tempo until the beginning of the second half, when Martin Odegaard forced Pickford to parry a powerful shot.
On the hour mark, however, desperation began to appear as the players desperately appealed for handball after Oleksandr Zinchenko’s long-range shot struck a diving James Tarkowski, who had his arm tucked into his body.
Calvert-Lewin, sporting a protective mask due to a recent facial injury, and Gabriel Jesus entered the game at the same time in the 66th minute after both managers decided a change of strikers was necessary to change their fate.
Trossard’s goal from an Arsenal short corner in the first half, however, proved decisive.
The Belgian scored his first goal since February after Zinchenko and Odegaard passed the ball to Bukayo Saka, whose cutback was deftly redirected with his left foot inside the far post by the Belgian.
Martinelli’s disallowed goal in the 19th minute was the only meaningful talking point in an otherwise forgettable first half.
Beto, making his debut at home, tackled Gabriel, and the ball rebounded to Nketiah, who then passed to Fabio Vieira, who then threaded a pass for his teammate to spiral a shot past Jordan Pickford; however, VAR ruled that the shot was not valid.
Martinelli was replaced by Trossard due to an injury that ended his participation.
Abdoulaye Doucoure wanted a penalty after sprinting from midfield, dribbling past Declan Rice, and cutting inside onto his right foot before being clipped by William Saliba, but referee Simon Hooper did not see any infraction.
Leandro Trossard’s goal finished Arsenal’s woeful run at Goodison Park