**Arsenal:** Raya, Timber, Saliba, Hincapie, Calafiori, Zubimendi, Rice, Odegaard, Trossard, Saka, Gyokeres
**Subs:** Kepa, Lewis-Skelly, Norgaard, Eze, Nwaneri, Merino, Martinelli, Madueke, Jesus
Arsenal will spend Christmas Day top of the Premier League after Viktor Gyokeres’ first-half penalty settled a scrappy contest at Everton.
The Gunners benefited from a blatant handball by Jake O’Brien midway through the opening period, allowing the Swede to score for the first time since early November.
It ought to have provided the platform for a more comfortable victory, but Arsenal twice struck the post in the second half as they attempted to put the game to bed.
Everton, meanwhile, struggled to fashion clear chances of their own, though they may feel aggrieved not to have been awarded a penalty when William Saliba appeared to kick through Thierno Barry.
#### **First Half**
After last weekend’s below-par performance against Wolves, Ben White’s hamstring injury and a few days to mull things over, Mikel Arteta was always likely to shuffle his pack.
Riccardo Calafiori returned from suspension at left-back, allowing Piero Hincapie to move back into central defence alongside William Saliba. Martin Odegaard replaced Eberechi Eze in midfield, Leandro Trossard came in for Gabriel Martinelli on the left, and Viktor Gyokeres retained his place despite lingering questions over his form.
Adding an extra layer of pressure to Arsenal’s first visit to Hill Dickinson Stadium was Manchester City’s win over West Ham earlier in the day, which meant the Gunners kicked off in second place.
Everton, missing Kienan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye, made the brighter start. They enjoyed more of the ball, pressed aggressively and forced Arsenal onto the back foot. An early collision between Hincapie and Calafiori didn’t help, with the Ecuadorian nursing his shoulder through the opening five minutes.
For all Everton’s territorial advantage, though, they created little of note. Two early corners came to nothing, the second skewed straight out by Dwight McNeil, drawing visible frustration from David Moyes on the touchline.
By the 15-minute mark, Arsenal had yet to take a touch inside the home side’s penalty area, but they began to grow into the game. Martin Zubimendi fired over first time from the edge of the box after Saka’s cutback from the left was diverted into his path.
Two minutes later came a more fluid move, starting with David Raya evading pressure before Odegaard and Saka combined to release Jurrien Timber. His cross took a slight deflection, looped over Jordan Pickford and looked destined for Gyokeres, but the Swede went down under pressure from Jake O’Brien. Arsenal appealed for a penalty, but there appeared to be little in it.
They did not have to wait long for fortune to favour them. From the resulting corner, Declan Rice’s delivery found Calafiori at the back post, where O’Brien inexplicably handled the ball while challenging. The referee missed it, but VAR did not, awarding a penalty. Mykolenko was booked for dissent as Everton attempted to unsettle the Arsenal taker – although at that point it was not immediately clear who would assume responsibility.
Odegaard briefly held the ball before handing it to Gyokeres. In need of a goal, the striker looked momentarily tense, but he smashed the penalty emphatically past Pickford to give Arsenal the lead ([GOAL 1–0](https://streamff.com/v/b03cfb4f)). It was their first real foothold in a game that had largely drifted by.
What followed was a scrappy, disjointed spell. Everton continued to press high in an effort to prevent the contest slipping away, while Arsenal enjoyed more possession without creating much of substance. Rice was prominent in regaining control in midfield and Raya occasionally tempted the hosts forward, but Everton lacked any real cutting edge.
Arsenal, meanwhile, struggled to make the ball stick in the final third. Gyokeres found duels hard to win, though he did draw a foul from Tarkowski that earned the defender a booking. Rice blazed over from the edge of the area, before Gyokeres, found by a neat Saliba through ball, also sent his effort high and wide under pressure.
It felt like a game there to be taken, but a persistent lack of precision proved frustrating. After Calafiori recovered from a head knock, Arsenal had one final opportunity in stoppage time, but Odegaard overhit a pass to Gyokeres, whose resulting cross towards Saka never looked likely to produce anything meaningful.
In short, it was a half low on quality from both sides, punctuated by a moment of Everton self-sabotage, not entirely dissimilar to last week against Wolves.
#### **Second Half**
Everton began the second half by lumping a couple of balls into the box, both dealt with comfortably by Arsenal, before Saka squandered a glorious chance to double the lead. Bursting onto Timber’s cutback, he drove a shot goalwards but could not find a way through a crowded penalty area.
At the other end, Barry was played clean through and went down under a challenge from Zubimendi. The referee waved away Everton’s appeals – it looked a foul, but one that would have been outside the area – and the decision was enough to get the home crowd roaring. Gyokeres was then booked cheaply for delaying the restart.
Everton wanted the game to descend into chaos, and Arsenal did little to prevent it. Saliba was fortunate not to concede a penalty after catching Barry’s foot once the striker had reached the ball, while Hincapie also escaped a booking after bringing him down again, underlining just how troublesome the Everton forward had become.
Arsenal responded with a brief spell of pressure. Saka saw a shot blocked by Keane before a slick move involving Saka, Timber, Odegaard and Rice shifted the ball from left to right, freeing Trossard. His curling effort beat Pickford but came back off the post — a costly miss in the circumstances.
After losing one duel too many, Gyokeres was withdrawn and replaced by Gabriel Jesus. Moyes responded by sending on Beto in place of Barry. The game opened up, which suited Arsenal, and there was another near miss when Zubimendi rattled the same post Trossard had struck moments earlier.
Saka grew in influence, though opportunities continued to go begging. On one occasion Timber inadvertently blocked his path, before Odegaard released him again in acres of space, only for Keane to intervene once more. Moyes then threw caution to the wind, replacing McNeil and Alcaraz with Dibling and Rohl, while Arteta responded by withdrawing Trossard for Martinelli — the Belgian departing still visibly frustrated by his earlier miss.
Heading into the final 10 minutes, there was a familiar concern that Arsenal might retreat as they had against Wolves. Calm possession was the order of the day. Raya, still trying to tempt Everton forward, put a simple pass out of play while searching for Hincapie — a rare blemish on an otherwise assured performance — but for the most part Arsenal kept the ball well.
The visitors continued to search for a second goal. Saka burst into the box only to be halted by Keane, Tarkowski nearly diverted a Merino pass into his own net, and Saka’s corner forced Pickford into a save. Jesus skewed a shot, Saka kept the move alive, but Everton clung on.
Deep into six minutes of stoppage time, Saka conceded a cheap free-kick, offering the hosts one final opportunity to load the box. Hincapie rose to head clear, bringing relief to the travelling support and finally bringing the contest to a close.