The next test for Arsenal sees them head to Merseyside to face Everton. It is the first time that the Gunners will play at the new Hill Dickinson Stadium. After Manchester City’s 3-0 win over West Ham, Arsenal will need a win to go back to the top of the Premier League table.
As mentioned, this will be Arsenal’s first time playing at the Hill Dickinson, although they have a poor record in recent times on Merseyside.
Leandro Trossard’s expert finish off the post in a 1-0 win during the 23/24 season was one of five occasions since 2010 that Arsenal had won at Goodison Park, and their first since a 5-2 thumping in October 2017.
Last season, both matches ended in a draw - it was 0-0 at the Emirates, and a 1-1 draw at Goodison.
Although Arsenal secured all three points with a 2-1 win over Wolves last Saturday night, it was frustratingly hard for them to make the game. The fact that it took a pair of own goals to give Arsenal the victory shows how poor the attack was, apart from Bukayo Saka, who created both goals on his own.
Facing a much tougher opponent that bottom of the league this weekend, Arsenal will need to show a lot more pace and intensity in their play if they are to try and break down an Everton side that has only conceded 19 goals in the Premier League so far.
Some of Arsenal’s best performances, such as Newcastle (A) and Sunderland (A) have been because of the intensity and the willingness to move the ball into attacking areas at speed.
Due to their Carabao Cup quarter-final against Crystal Palace being rescheduled to Tuesday, Arsenal had the luxury of a seven day break between matches, which they haven’t had since August (excluding international breaks).
From an energy level perspective, you expect Arsenal to be in a better position towards the end of the match, especially when Everton are depleted with injuries and players leaving for AFCON.
When talking about the week’s break, Mikel Arteta hoped it would provide some benefits for this match.
“Sometimes it's the level of energy and consistent energy that you need throughout a game to sustain when you have played so many minutes in their legs. And other things are the small things, as we talked about, those defensive habits or connections that you don't build because you don't have time to do that. This week we had time to work on them, and hopefully we're going to see an improvement on Saturday. “
After Ben White went off in the first half of the Wolves' win with a hamstring injury, the Gunners are down yet another defender. Riccardo Calafiori returns from suspension, which means he should come back into the starting 11.
Mikel Arteta has a choice to make about whether he plays Piero Hincapie or Calafiori at LCB. Jurrien Timber should also be at right back, and Myles Lewis-Skelly may start at left back in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday evening.
It’s about survival for the next couple of weeks in that area, as they should be getting Gabriel back soon from his injury layoff.