Everton v Arsenal - Ratings

Writing match reports and rating the players is something I usually enjoy (Albeit defeats aren't so fun), it's a good way to kill an hour or so and talk about the team I love. However I'll be amazed if this report takes any longer than about 20 minutes to write, such was the lack of anything to actually discuss football or performance wise.

If anything it was pre-match that brought more talking points. Orny kicked things off with the news that 5 youth players were set to start: AMN, ESR, Nelson, Martinelli, Saka. It was a decision that raised eyebrows but could be made sense of (Ozil injury, left back crisis for example).
     After that, about 10 minutes before the teams were announced, the news broke that Carlo Ancelotti was confirmed to be Everton's new manager. Though from an Arsenal perspective we couldn't really give a rat's arse.

     Then the team news came. Pepe was dropped again with not a single soul able to understand why given there's been almost a full week since the last game. ESR was given his first start and Saka came in at left back, a position he had played in the youth teams before. The other eyebrow raise was Luiz back in the squad for Sokratis, who didn't make the squad altogether. It was interesting to see as Sokratis seemed to have improved in recent weeks.

After all that it was time for kick off, and precisely naff all happened for 45 minutes. Everton saw plenty of the ball but rarely threatened the goal, Arsenal attempted to catch Everton on the transition at times but it never really worked and there was never any sustained pressure on Pickford's goal.

In the second half, Arsenal did find themselves with a little more going forward and Aubameyang squandered the best chance of the game. A corner was flicked on at the near post by Chambers, and it fell to Aubameyang who from 2 yards out really should have been scoring, instead he fluffed his lines and didn't make good enough contact with the ball and with enough conviction to put it beyond Pickford, in the end it was easy enough for Pickford to palm it over the bar to safety.

The performance as a whole was uninspiring in the attacking sense, but Arsenal did for once let Everton know they were in for a game and we wouldn't be rolling over for them. Xhaka and Torreira in particular excelled and marshalled the back 4 very well. The fluid attacking football wasn't there to see us win the game, but the team worked together to make sure we at least didn't lose and would pick up our first clean sheet in 15 games. Positive signs for Arteta to hopefully take forward!

Ratings:

Leno - 6

It's very difficult to rate Leno cause I don't think he actually ended up making a save of any kind of note, for once...

AMN - 6.5

Defensively he worked very hard and wasn't going to be beaten at any time. Everton did prefer to try and expose Saka on the other side but when called upon AMN did an excellent job. I'd have liked to see him go forward a bit more and use some of his explosive pace but that may have been through instruction.

Chambers - 8

Excellent performance. After really struggling against a very good man city side last weekend, this was a much improved display and he deserves credit for bouncing back the way he did. If he can keep this up and raise his game against better and more threatening sides then he's got a real shot of being a future first 11 starter every single week.

Luiz - 8

Equally as excellent as Chambers was today. Was a lot more willing to engage Everton attackers rather than continuously drop off but also did the sensible things well. I can't remember the last time I saw Luiz opt to just put the ball out for a throw in rather than turn into trouble.... I shouldn't praise it, but I feel like I must in the circumstances.

Saka - 6.5

A really peculiar performance. Defensively he was excellent, in the first half he was quick to meet Richarlison and make an absolutely fantastic block. However going forward he was strangely off his game. His touch was poor, passes often wayward and I'm not sure any of his crosses found their man. Given he's an unorthodox left back and he defended superbly, I'm inclined to be generous and score him a little above average.

Torreira - 7.5

He and xhaka in a double pivot just works. His passing range isn't the best at the club unlike Xhaka, but he is the best at screening and protecting a back 4 and the two just work. Throughout the full 90 minutes he was getting into Everton faces and buying fouls when we needed them. Put in a real shift.

Xhaka - 8.5 (MOTM)

This was one of his best displays in an arsenal shirt. He worked very hard for the team and was sensible in choosing when to engage his opponent. He moved the ball nicely, and together with Torreira they gave the back 4 every bit of protection they needed. This is the Xhaka we need to see every week.

Martinelli - 6.5

As hard as he worked, it just wasn't his day in the end. I like what he tries to bring to the team but it wasn't happening for him. He gets a slightly above average score for helping Saka well defensively and stop Everton from trying to expose what defensive flaws he might have.

ESR - 5

I feel a little bit harsh scoring him below average, but the reality was that I don't think he had a particularly good performance. He doesn't have the same technical quality and security as someone like Ozil and Pepe do so more often than not he struggled to help the side make chances. That technical security will come and he's still young but I think it might just be a little too early for him to be starting in the premier league right at this moment.

Nelson - 5

Again I almost feel harsh giving this rating but he struggled a lot to get into the game today. Not much happened over his side of the pitch but even when presented with the opportunity he sadly didn't take it as well as we all would have hoped. Like ESR, I think his time will come and he'll learn but now isn't quite that time in the premier league.

Aubameyang - 5

Uncharacteristically poor today. He needs the service but even then he usually only needs one chance to score. Today his best chance he squandered when he should have scored, and he nicked the ball from ESR to unleash a very tame effort, when ESR who was running onto the ball would have been better placed to have an effort on goal.

Willock - 6

Didn't really have much impact on the game when he game on. Little else changed and like ESR, he didn't do much to try and unlock an untroubled Everton defence but did his defensive duties diligently.

Lacazette - N/A