Arsenal’s new executive team met supporters before this game and personally pledged to bring “pride back to the fan-base” – and, while the sight again of so many empty seats underlined the challenge, a fifth straight win does suggest tentative steps in the right direction.
Yes, Everton could easily already have been ahead by the time Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored twice in three second-half minutes to settle the match 2-0. And, yes, you had to go back more than 22 years – pre-Arsene Wenger – for Everton’s most recent win at Highbury or The Emirates but Arsenal are back up into the top six of a Premier League table that already has a rather familiar feel.
Can Arsenal now seriously build further? The departure as chief executive of Ivan Gazidis suggests that there are doubts about that even at the very highest level of the club, especially in the context of how Manchester City and Liverpool have begun the season, but there is at least now a foundation.
A front four today of Lacazette, Aubameyang, Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey have the quality to hurt any team and a first clean sheet in what is the seventh match under new head coach Unai Emery will provide particular satisfaction. After impressing in the Europa League on Thursday, Lucas Torreira had been given his first Premier League start by Emery in what remained a 4-2-3-1 formation with Ramsey pushed forward between Ozil and Aubameyang.
Torreria was signed to provide the protective shield that Arsenal have so often lacked in front of their defence but it took just seconds for Everton to create a wonderful chance. Dominic Calvert-Lewin had surged behind their defence but Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech was alert to negate the danger.
Arsenal’s desire to play out from the back was again also causing significant jitters and, with Shkodran Mustafi losing possession, Theo Walcott’s run provoked Sokratis into a tackle that would result not just in a booking but an injury that prematurely ended his contribution.
Only Robin van Persie has scored more Emirates goals than Walcott but it was actually Richarlison on the opposite wing, with his direct running at Hector Bellerin, who represented the main threat. He forced Cech into a series of saves while Walcott, too, was only denied by the outstretched leg of his former team-mate after being released by Gylfi Sigurdsson.
After being booked for one studs-up tackle on Sigurdsson, Torreira also risked a sending off with a similarly wayward challenge on Everton left-back Lucas Digne. Arsenal began to increasingly interchange Lacazette and Aubameyang as the main central striker and did steadily establish both their rhythm and a gathering attacking threat. Bellerin’s cross bounced for Aubameyang and, from his selfless cut-back, Nacho Monreal forced an excellent save from England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
An Aubameyang cross also almost inadvertently crept inside Pickford’s goal, while Arsenal’s record signing then felt aggrieved to not win a penalty when he headed the ball onto Jonjoe Kenny’s arm.
The pressure was just beginning to mount but it still took something special from Arsenal to beat Pickford. Torreira had won possession in midfield and fed Ramsey who in turn released Lacazette in space just outside the Everton penalty. It was an inviting rather than dangerous position, but Lacazette showed real composure to cut back inside and then unleash a curling finish past Pickford and into the top corner.
Arsenal were liberated and Ozil then surged clear before teeing up Ramsey, who lost his footing but was just able to improvise a back-heeled pass for Aubameyang to double Arsenal’s lead. It was fortuitous, though, as Aubameyang had drifted into an offside position and it appeared that referee Jon Moss and his assistants had missed the touch by Ramsey that should have resulted in an Everton free-kick.
Everton’s frustration was then again compounded by the excellent Cech, who got down quickly to palm Michael Keane’s header to safety and ensure what has been a rare clean sheet lately for the all-time Premier League record-holder.
Telegraph/The Genius Media
