Arsenal vs Everton. Premier League.
Emirates StadiumAttendance60,213.
Match report and free highlights as Arsenal beat Everton 4-0 to go five points clear of Manchester City; Gabriel Martinelli scored twice; Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard also on target as Gunners capitalised on their game in hand
Thursday 2 March 2023 06:11, UK
Gabriel Martinelli scored twice as Arsenal thrashed Everton 4-0 at the Emirates Stadium to move five points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table.
The Gunners were frustrated by Everton for the first 40 minutes but Bukayo Saka's brilliantly-taken opener caused the floodgates to open as Mikel Arteta's side capitalised on their game in hand in ruthless style.
Martinelli netted his first goal of the night with a cool finish after Saka had tackled Idrissa Gueye (45+1), the goal reinstated by VAR after the Brazilian was initially flagged offside.
Martin Odegaard then extended their advantage from close range following a slick attack (71), with Martinelli adding his second and Arsenal's fourth (80) to cap a one-sided second half.
The victory made it three wins on the bounce for Arsenal, providing another statement about their title credentials, while Everton remain mired in relegation trouble in 18th place.
A month on from their 1-0 victory over the Gunners at Goodison Park, Sean Dyche's side initially appeared to pick up where they left off, keeping Arsenal firmly at arm's length for much of the first half and threatening intermittently at the other end.
Neal Maupay had their best chances, shooting too close to Aaron Ramsdale from the edge of the box, then failing to make a proper connection with a Dwight McNeil cross.
The former Brighton striker then spurned another opening midway through the half, his shot blocked by Gabriel Magalhaes as the visitors wasted a four-on-two counter-attack.
Up at the other end, Arsenal's attacks came to nothing, the home fans growing increasingly frustrated as Everton sought to slow the game down, but the mood changed completely when Oleksandr Zinchenko finally found a way through, his incisive pass releasing Saka, who took his chance brilliantly from an angle.
The opener came from only their second shot of the night - a statistic which reflected the effectiveness of Everton's defensive performance up until that point - but from then on Arsenal were completely dominant and extended their lead soon afterwards.
Martinelli was initially flagged offside after Saka had robbed the ball off a dawdling Gueye, who was subsequently taken off at half-time, but soon enough Arsenal were celebrating, the VAR check ruling in their favour as they took a commanding lead into the break.
The second half was a story of near-total Arsenal dominance, with Thomas Partey, on for Jorginho at the interval, dictating proceedings and Odegaard scoring the third from Leandro Trossard's centre.
The hosts continued to pepper Jordan Pickford's goal with shots and Martinelli's second goal arrived from another flowing attack, with substitute Eddie Nketiah this time the provider, as the hosts rammed home their advantage.
Everton couldn't muster much of a response in the face of Arsenal's dominance, the Gunners attempting a total of 744 passes, their highest total in any Premier League game all season, and when they did threaten, they couldn't find a way past Aaron Ramsdale, who made a fine double save from substitutes Demarai Gray and Tom Davies in stoppage time.
At the full-time whistle, Arsenal's players and coaching staff celebrated on the pitch, their title hopes enhanced as they re-established a five-point advantage on reigning champions City.
"I'm really happy," said Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta afterwards. "It was the game that we had in hand against an opponent that we knew were going to make life really difficult for us. We experienced that at Goodison.
"We started the game with some frustration, not really understanding what we had to do, allowing them to run in certain transitions, but after 20 or 25 minutes I think we started to get much better and I think the timing of the first two goals was key.
"We needed a magic moment there and Alex [Zinchenko] and 'B' [Bukayo Saka] produced it. And then the team grew, especially with Thomas [Partey], because Jorgi wasn't feeling good today.
"When he came on, he really gave some presence and some stability to the team, and I think the second half was superb."
Asked again about Bukayo Saka's opening goal, he added: "In the end, you have to produce those magic moments and take that initiative and have that mentality, 'I'm going to do it on the pitch. I'm not going to wait for somebody else to do it.'
"When you have a few players who have the willingness and the capacity to do that, you have a better chance to win more games."
Everton boss Sean Dyche said: "For 40 minutes, I thought we did very well against a top side. You know you have to work for the counter at places like this, which we did.
"Finding the killer moments is the story of the season so far, before and with me, and that defined that period.
"Then, a soft goal from our point of view. Only yardages, the back four just got a little bit open for the first time and it was good from [Arsenal], because that's what they do, they slide and look to play quick passes into the box, so fair play to them.
"Then, once you're two down at a place like this, it's very difficult. We know that and we had to take the second half on and at the end of the day, you saw why they are top of the league.
"It's not always about us. There are lots of things we could have done better. But at the end of the day, they are a top side and they showed it in the second half."
For 40 minutes at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal's efforts to navigate the two banks of blue shirts defending Jordan Pickford's goal ended in frustration. Everton were compact and organised. The hosts could barely even muster a shot on goal.
They needed a spark and it came, as it so often does, from Oleksandr Zinchenko. Bukayo Saka's opener was of course brilliantly taken, but the chance only arose because of Zinchenko's vision and his ability to execute passes other players can't.
That he produced it from the right-hand side of midfield felt even more fitting. Zinchenko is a left-back only in name. In this game, as in so many others, he spent most of his time in central areas, where Everton ultimately found it impossible to stop him.
"That's why we bought him," said a smiling Mikel Arteta afterwards, "because he gives something different to the team, his mentality and his quality as well, to do certain things that allow us to be more unpredictable, to generate a lot of threat every time we are in possession."
It helps, too, that he has done this all before. He became a serial winner at Manchester City but, as Arteta pointed out afterwards, he also amassed invaluable experience in unlocking stubborn defences. "He has played those kinds of games, against low blocks, 200 times and that's very helpful."
His role in this victory could be seen in the numbers. In addition to his assist, Zinchenko had the most touches of any player on the pitch (109), while nobody made more passes in the final third (31), his performance a reminder of how he has helped take this Arsenal side to another level this season.
Arsenal host Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday; kick-off 3pm. Meanwhile, Everton visit Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Super Sunday; coverage starts at 1pm with kick-off at 2pm.
