Saturday's win against Everton was an evening that no Gooner will ever forget, as goals from Viktor Gyokeres and Max Dowman saw us leave it late to beat Everton.
But amongst the last-gasp drama and lingering celebrations, you may have missed some of the finer details that led to us extending our lead at the top of the table to nine points.
To help, Adrian Clarke has gone through the data and footage to reveal some of the key reasons why we beat the Toffees:
FAST START
There was a brightness about our play early on, which set the tone for what was to come against a strong, difficult-to-beat Everton side. Playing with real urgency right from the kick-off, the speed and tempo of our football was a big step up from what we delivered against Bayer Leverkusen a few days earlier.
Our shot map after just 15 minutes highlights this determined attitude, with seven attempts on goal registered during that period:
While there were understandably some lulls, Mikel Arteta’s players largely kept up their positive energy levels and attacking intent throughout. By the time the final whistle blew, we had racked up 25 attempts on goal; the highest total of shots produced by us in any Premier League match in 2025/26. Way above our season average of 14.68 shots per game, the side pushed and pushed until we got the job done.
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ELECTRIC EZE
He may not have scored against the Toffees, but this was one of Eberechi Eze’s most impactful performances of the season. Our No.10 has seven shots, including six from outside the box; the joint-most by any Premier League player in a match during this campaign and the most by a Gunners star since Martin Odegaard attempted against Bournemouth in March 2023:
Eze’s shots v Everton
Our summer signing stung Jordan Pickford’s palms with a scorching effort late on, and was just inches away from curling a left-foot beauty into the top corner with his only effort from inside the danger zone. Eze’s passing was also progressive, and on point. This well-weighted through ball for Noni Madueke early on was a real eye catcher:
And it was also his crisp and incisive forward pass into Kai Havertz which set the striker on his way for a one-on-one inside the box. From this pass, TV replays clearly showed that Havertz was extremely unlucky not to get a penalty kick when Michael Keane trod on the German’s ankle:
BIG DEFENSIVE MOMENTS
Having won seven of their 14 away matches prior to visiting Emirates Stadium, there was an air of confidence about David Moyes’ side, who attacked with speed and fluency. Taming their threats was not easy, but at key junctures we stepped up to make sure David Raya collected his 15th clean sheet of the season.
Riccardo Calafiori’s amazing and rather unique intervention prevented a near-certain Everton goal during the first period. After Raya had palmed a cross straight to Dwight McNeil’s feet, with the Italian left-back stranded on all fours, the visitors had a golden opportunity to open the scoring:
Yet Calafiori’s natural instinct was to raise his right leg as high as possible just in case it might repel McNeil’s shot. That reaction created a barrier, and as his leg was on the way back down, a fierce goalbound shot crashed into it. With Calafiori’s eyes locked into McNeil’s actions throughout, this was one of the finest blocks you will see from anyone this season:
Raya himself made three important saves, but it was his brilliant 49th-minute block from Beto that stunned Everton the most. From a partially cleared corner, the striker swivelled to shoot from just six yards out, but despite having his view blocked, Raya’s instinct was to throw out his left leg – and that decision was crucial, reacting sharply to deny Beto.
This was the last chance our opponents had to score. From this save onwards, they mustered just two shots, both of which were blocked.
BOLD CHANGES
Despite playing well, the manager was decisive in the way he tried to extract even more from his side. A double change on 61 minutes saw Viktor Gyokeres and Gabriel Martinelli enter the fray, but it was his 74th-minute call to bring Piero Hincapie and Max Dowman on that ultimately won us three massive points.
With Dowman replacing Martin Zubimendi, our 4-2-3-1 shape became more of a 4-1-4-1, with Bukayo Saka coming infield to form a trio alongside Rice and Eze. Hincapie’s brief was to play as a wider, more adventurous left-back, and the changes breathed new life into our attack, and we totally dominated the closing stages.
All four of those second-half ‘finishers’ played a part in our two goals, so those purposeful changes swung the course of this key fixture our way. We have now scored 11 goals from substitutes, the most of any top-flight team.
It should also be noted that our vital opener stemmed from a patient piece of football that saw us play out from the back through Raya. Sticking to our tactical principles, we lured four Toffees players onto the ball before freeing up Gabriel, and the Brazilian’s long diagonal to Christhian Mosquera took all those blue shirts out of the game:
Racing upfield, we gained the territory we needed to make that late breakthrough.
MAGIC FROM MAX
Becoming ours and the Premier League's youngest ever goalscorer at 16 years and 73 days, this was an occasion that announced Dowman’s arrival on the big stage.
With teammates full of trust in the teenager, from the 74th minute until the final whistle, no one enjoyed more touches than Dowman (28) who consistently made things happen with the ball at his feet.
Dowman’s touch map
During his short time on the pitch, Dowman made five dribbles, won possession four times, completed 12 of 13 passes, and had two shots. Ultimately making the difference, it was the schoolboy’s wicked, teasing cross which forced a key error from Jordan Pickford, which led to our first goal. Deceiving the England number one with its bend and pace, it was a superb delivery that allowed Hincapie set up Gyokeres to convert:
Then Dowman produced the season’s most defining moment so far with an incredible win-sealing goal. Credit should go to Gyokeres and Martinelli for the two headers which set the whizkid on his way from a corner.
Then, it was the manner in which Dowman raced up the length of the pitch to score such a historic goal, keeping his calm with poise, skill and speed, that will forever be remembered. Hopefully, it is the first of many magical moments this extraordinary young player serves up for the Arsenal.
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Max Dowman: Arsenal's and PL's youngest scorer](http://www.arsenal.com/news/max-dowman-arsenals-and-pls-youngest-scorer?utm_source=arsenaldotcom&utm_medium=embedded-article&utm_campaign=news)
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