James Tarkowski was a rare absence for Everton against Arsenal – and there is an argument for keeping him out of the starting XI against Chelsea.
James Tarkowski missed out against the Gunners, as did Jarrad Brathwaite, which saw David Moyes turn to a centre-back pairing of Michael Keane and Jake O’Brien.
Everton ended up losing the game.
What changes would you make? 🤔
Everton's predicted starting line-up against Chelsea.
But it was another good away performance from the Toffees, who were solid defensively throughout.
It was only a rare Jordan Pickford error that allowed Arsenal to take the lead. Then, they scored with a counter from an Everton corner, which Pickford had gone up for.
It wasn’t really a 2-0 game, and there’s a genuine argument for not bringing Tarkowski back in against Chelsea.
David Moyes should think twice about James Tarkowski recall vs Chelsea
Tarkowski missed out against Arsenal due to an injury, and there haven’t really been any updates about his fitness or condition.
All we know is it happened in training, and it was serious enough for him to miss the Arsenal games.
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After that match, Moyes stated he had nothing to say about Tarkowski’s injury, with the manager giving a slightly odd tone.
But even if Tarkowski is fine to play against Chelsea, Moyes should not just be automatically bringing him back in.
To do that would be to dismiss the great performances of Keane and O’Brien against the Gunners.
James Tarkowski playing for Everton.
Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images
Between them, they made a staggering 28 clearances and contested 13 duels, winning six. Keane also made a clearance off the line.
Their defensive solidity would have been deserving of a clean sheet, and it would be harsh of Moyes to drop either.
If Jarrad Brathwaite is fit to play, then that’s a slightly different situation. Because he’s Everton’s best defender and realistically should be starting every game he can.
But Tarkowski has simply not shown the same consistency this season as he has done in previous campaigns.
Indeed, Michael Ball recently stated that Tarkowski has even looked ‘overzealous’ at times for Everton, and he’s had moments where he’s looked unsettled.
He’s a great captain and has been a tremendous servant – of that, there is no question.
But bringing him straight back into the starting XI against Chelsea if he’s fit to play would be questionable, especially with the others in much better form and condition.
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