Everton’s Premier League clash vs Arsenal has been moved to a Saturday night in December – and that has sparked memories of an old festive battle between the two.
Arsenal are the side to beat in the Premier League this season, having only lost once at Liverpool, and even taking points off of them remains a tough ask at present.
Everton will have their go in just over a month’s time, and fans are excited at the prospect of the game being moved to a Saturday night under the lights just before Christmas, representing a huge opportunity for David Moyes to stun the league leaders.
And it will bring back good memories of a similarly-timed clash under Carlo Ancelotti, when Arsenal fell 2-1 at Goodison Park.
Former Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti.
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Everton’s Premier League win over Arsenal in 2020 gave fans festive cheer
Everton came into the clash against Arsenal in fifth place, looking to inflict further misery on the Gunners who had only won four of their opening 13 games, including a run of just two points from six games.
And that they did. A Rob Holding own goal put the Toffees ahead in front of a small 2,000 crowd that had been opened after a reduction in Covid-19 restrictions, though a Nicolas Pepe penalty soon levelled the scoring.
However on the brink of half-time, Yerry Mina, who has been branded as ‘annoying’ by Arsenal legend Cesc Fabregas recently, put the Toffees back ahead – with Arsenal unable to respond.
It left Arsenal 15th in the table, just four points clear of relegation woes, but for Everton it sparked dreams of a first continental campaign in three years.
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It was pretty much the pinnacle for fans over the past decade.
Everton v Chelsea - Premier League
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Everton’s win over Arsenal five years ago offers a tale of what might’ve been
Although it offers a good chance to reminisce over those sacred times under Carlo Ancelotti, the downside is that the win at Goodison was the last time that Everton were remotely challenging for European football.
The Toffees’ 2-1 win over Arsenal momentarily put them second in the Premier League, having won eight of their 14 games and being the league’s joint-third highest scorers with 25 goals.
League position Games played Points
1. Liverpool 14 31
2. Everton 14 26
3. Tottenham Hotspur 13 25
4. Leicester City 13 24
Premier League table after Everton beat Arsenal 2-1 in December 2020
However, a torrid run of form meant that Everton only won two more home fixtures across the rest of the season, coming against Southampton and Wolves. Losses to the likes of Burnley, Fulham, Sheffield United and Newcastle – with all but the Magpies finishing in the bottom four – consigned Everton to a 10th-placed finish.
Had they won just four points from any of those four losses, Ancelotti would have overseen a European campaign the following season prior to his move to Real Madrid.
Of course, times have been tough since then. Finishes of 16th, 17th, 15th and 13th since mean Everton have fallen a long way from Europe, being 17 points away last season despite it being their best finish.
The club need to get back to their Christmas 2020 form to even contemplate a European campaign and beating now-leaders Arsenal on home turf around Christmas could spark similar memories.