On this day in 2014, Everton defeated Arsenal 3-0 in a memorable match for Roberto Martinez's side at Goodison Park
Mikel Arteta clashes with Leighton Baines during the match between Everton and Arsenal at Goodison Park on April 6, 2014
Mikel Arteta clashes with Leighton Baines during the match between Everton and Arsenal at Goodison Park on April 6, 2014(Image: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
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Are Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal going to bottle it?
When the Gunners defeated Everton 2-0 just over three weeks ago, despite David Moyes’ men holding out until the 89th minute, they looked to have taken a huge step towards their first Premier League title under their Basque boss and were still on for an unprecedented ‘quadruple.’
While Champions League progress was subsequently secured against Bayer Leverkusen, hopes of domestic cup glory have been dashed by a Wembley defeat to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final being followed by Saturday’s shock FA Cup quarter-final exit at Championship Southampton.
All of a sudden, Arsenal appear to be wobbling with concerns over both their physical and mental condition. They couldn’t throw away this golden opportunity to be champions, could they?
The stakes weren’t quite as high a dozen years ago, but on April 6, 2014, Arteta and his north London colleagues were handed something of a bloody nose at Goodison Park. Fellow Spaniard Roberto Martinez’s Everton emphatically won the battle on this day, but it was Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal who would win the war.
READ MORE: Everton state of play as Blues prepare for enthralling run that could yet end with Europe
Although David Moyes’ class of 2004/05 needed just 61 points to finish fourth, a Premier League era club record points haul of 72 for the Blues in 2013/14 still saw them ending up seven points adrift of the Gunners who secured Champions League qualification for the 16th straight season (they would eventually reach 19 before their sequence was broken).
Despite having acquired Everton’s most prolific striker since Gary Lineker in Romelu Lukaku on a permanent deal following an initial season-long loan, things would unravel quite spectacularly for Martinez over his next two campaigns. However, the Catalan’s first season in charge represented the perfect blend of his fresh ideas and attacking impetus with the discipline and resoluteness left over from having Moyes at the helm for over a decade.
That hugely promising first 12 months would prompt Bill Kenwright to reward Martinez with a bumper new five-year deal at the end of his debut campaign – a decision that would cost the club £10m in compensation when he was sacked a couple of years later – but it was champagne football displays like this one that had convinced the chairman he was Goodison’s man for the long-haul.
As the Gwladys Street chorus proclaimed at the time: “The school of science – it’s on its way back!” Unlike predecessor Moyes who would often try and temper expectations, on Martinez’s appointment, Kenwright declared that the new man’s first words to him were: ‘I’ll get you in the Champions League.”
After this win, Greg O’Keeffe of the ECHO enthused: “The prize on offer was not fourth place, even if this felt to all intents and purposes like a decider. Everton remain in fifth, a point behind the Gunners. But what they did seize – with two firm hands – was momentum, one of the most powerful forces in football.
“They did it sin miedo, without fear, as Roberto Martinez likes to say. They did it with swagger; witness Seamus Coleman nutmegging Santi Cazorla, or the Blues keeping the ball to a chorus of oles. And they did it with the hunger and vigour which suggests this Everton side is capable of special things.”
Romelu Lukaku celebrates with manager Roberto Martinez
Romelu Lukaku celebrates with manager Roberto Martinez(Image: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
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He added: “It takes a long memory to recall the last time Arsene Wenger didn’t steer Arsenal into the Champions League, but this season – on this evidence at least – his men are facing a team who appear quite simply to want it more.
“Everton did to Arsenal what the Londoners did to them at the Emirates in the FA Cup quarter-final last month [when the Gunners won 4-1]. They came out hell-bent on imposing themselves on the game and through sheer force of will and clever tactics they built an advantage which proved unassailable.”
The unexpected tweak that Martinez made to outfox the visitors was putting his usual centre-forward on the flank and the manoeuvre worked a treat.
O’Keeffe proclaimed: “Martinez smelled blood with the unconvincing Nacho Monreal at left-back and deployed Lukaku over on the right to exploit their opponents’ weakness. It worked, like almost everything else the Blues did in a blistering opening half.
“Lukaku is approaching the rampaging form just at the right time which made his loan acquisition seem such a coup earlier in the season. It was his shot which forced Wojciech Szczesny to parry and allowed Steven Naismith to tuck away the crucial opening goal on 14 minutes.
“Lukaku needed no help with Everton’s decisive second [on 34 minutes] and he delivered with style, then celebrated with Martinez like someone who feels nurtured and enriched by his time under such an intelligent coach.”
The coup de grace was delivered on 61 minutes when former Everton fans’ favourite Mikel Arteta, who had upset many Blues by kissing the Arsenal badge after scoring against them in the FA Cup the previous month while also rolling around trying to get their players booked, netted an own goal when sliding in to try and get to the ball ahead of Kevin Mirallas.
It capped a perfect day for Martinez and his side but while another own goal from Sunderland’s Wes Brown extended their winning streak to seven the following weekend, after that the bubble burst with a shock 3-2 home defeat to Crystal Palace and with two more losses in their next three fixtures, the Gunners pulled away from them.
A version of this report appears in Christopher Beesley’s book, Spirit of the Blues: Everton’s Most Memorable Matches & Goodison Park’s Greatest Games. You can order copies here.
Spirit of the Blues is out now
Spirit of the Blues is out now
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