Everton snap analysis from Chris Beesley after David Moyes' side were beaten 1-0 by Arsenal in the Premier League at Hill Dickinson Stadium
Jake O'Brien in action for Everton against Arsenal in the Premier League
Jake O'Brien in action for Everton against Arsenal in the Premier League(Image: ( Mike Morese/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images))
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There were two dramatic raisings in front of the South Stand at Hill Dickinson Stadium as Everton faced Arsenal – one was sublime, but the next was ridiculous.
Before kick-off, fan group The 1878s produced their most spectacular showing yet. Having found that the flags and banners that had helped ‘The Grand Old Lady’ of Goodison Park to put her best face on during her latter years were now dwarfed by the steep bank of 15,000 Evertonians that now form the Blue Wall, a giant tifo was produced for their inaugural ‘On the banks of the Royal Blue Mersey’ display in the final fixture of the first calendar year at their new waterfront home.
An imposing rendering of the Everton Tower was hoisted aloft, and the stage was set. As David Moyes had remarked in his programme notes: “It’s a Saturday night under the lights, and I hope you can all make this place as noisy and ferocious as possible. We all want to see and hear this stadium in full voice and you fans making it as difficult as Goodison was for visiting teams to come.”
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However, all that atmosphere was punctuated when Jake O’Brien gave away a needless penalty on 27 minutes with what proved to be the pivotal moment of the match. Just why the giant Irish defender was raising both his arms in the air to handle the ball when taking part in an aerial duel, only he will know.
However, the lad from Cork has come a long way over these past 12 months under Moyes and established himself as a Premier League regular. Hopefully he and his team-mates can learn from this self-inflicted setback to kick on further at Hill Dickinson Stadium in 2026.