Everton verdict from Joe Thomas following the 1-0 Premier League defeat to Arsenal at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday night
David Moyes during Everton's Premier League defeat to Arsenal
David Moyes during Everton's Premier League defeat to Arsenal(Image: (Mike Morese/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images))
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David Moyes stalked referee Sam Barrott off the pitch at full-time and it was easy to understand why. When Thierno Barry crumpled in a heap inside the Arsenal box, the reaction of his teammates was emphatic. Jack Grealish immediately launched into an outburst at Barrott and others followed. There was no doubt the Everton forward had been kicked through the back of the leg by William Saliba – replays only cemented that belief.
But VAR is rarely a friend to Everton, and, while the incident was checked, the conclusion was “the contact from Saliba on Barry wasn’t sufficient for a penalty”. It was hard to avoid the conclusion it would have been given as a foul anywhere else on the pitch. Conspiracy theorists might claim it would have been given had the roles been reversed.
There is no doubt Arsenal were the better side in this match, and that they only won 1-0 may have been down to their own restraint more than anything Everton threw at them. But the Barry penalty claim came midway through a second half in which the hosts had rallied after a poor first 45 minutes, and frustration over the decision was justified.
This is an Everton squad decimated by injuries and the loss of Idrissa Gueye and Iliman Ndiaye to the Africa Cup of Nations. This match against arguably the best team in Europe this season was always going to be tough. They can be forgiven for feeling a controversial decision impeded their hopes of pulling a good point from a wretched situation.
Instead, Barrott and VAR ruled against those in Royal Blue and that, in a nutshell, was the game. Beyond that bouncing ball in the Arsenal box, Everton laboured in the opposition half and carried little threat, a problem best epitomised by Carlos Alcaraz’s struggle to gain a foothold in the match.
What will annoy Moyes is that the visitors owed their dominance to a mistake by Jake O’Brien rather than any moment of magic or skill. Little separated these sides in the first 25 minutes – that in itself was a victory for Everton given the disparity of resources – until a corner was whipped into Jordan Pickford’s box and the towering defender raised both hands into its path.
Quite what O’Brien was trying to do was unclear. A generous reading of the situation may be that he believed he was pushed in the air by Riccardo Calafiori, but even if that was the case, to assume a foul would be given before the whistle was blown would have been naïve in the extreme.
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Barrott did not see the handball in real time, but spoiler alert: VAR did. Once it intervened, the outcome was not in doubt. Nor was the result of the spot kick after it left Viktor Gyokeres’ right boot, the Sweden international rifling it beyond the reach of Pickford.
That moment of confusion defined this game. Once Arsenal had the lead, they had Everton precisely where they wanted them – chasing shadows. Martin Zubimendi, Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard passed the ball around in neat triangles, and Everton hustled and harried but barely laid a glove on their opponents.
Penalty claim aside, this was closer to being a more emphatic result for Arsenal than a draw, with Leandro Trossard striking the outside of Pickford’s post and James Tarkowski clearing a Bukayo Saka effort off the line. Everton, particularly in the first half, failed to match the intensity of their supporters after being welcomed onto the pitch by a stunning South Stand display that involved a giant stadium-height banner and a mural created by 15,000 fans.
It was some introduction – another statement to the watching world that Everton have entered a new era. Reality still has a habit of biting, though, as the Blues look to build on their new-found stability off the pitch with sustained progress on it. This is a season of improvement that has surpassed expectations, but the bumps in the road have had a tendency to be painful. Yet this was not the humiliation of the Newcastle United defeat or the frustration of the home loss to Tottenham Hotspur. Save for some credible performances from the likes of Michael Keane and Tim Iroegbunam, it was, however, a reminder of how far Everton have to travel to consistently challenge the best sides in the Premier League.
And there is no shame in that. For all the disappointment this result will engender, it is important to remember just how far Everton have come in such a short period of time. Twelve months ago the club spent December bumbling towards what would have been a fourth consecutive relegation fight. Even with this defeat, Everton will spend Christmas Day 2025 in the top half of the table.