Former Everton defender Michael Ball looks ahead to the Carabao Cup clash with Preston in the second part of his weekly column
David Moyes and Mikel Arteta enjoyed winning starts to the new Premier League season with Everton and Arsenal
David Moyes and Mikel Arteta enjoyed winning starts to the new Premier League season with Everton and Arsenal
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I saw the way Arsenal took on Coventry City on Friday night and that was the template I want to see Everton follow against Preston North End.
A night game against a newly-promoted side can be a tough way to start the Premier League season - as the defending champions they were in a situation where anything other than a good win would have been met with questions and that can be tricky when your opponents have nothing to lose.
Mikel Arteta approached the game by playing a strong team and looking to seize control from the start. They played with authority, they forced themselves on their opponents, hassling them and pressing them. It took 15 minutes to get the goal and by the 23rd, when Bukayo Saka made it 2-0, the game was over.
Coventry have every right to be in the Premier League but Arsenal overwhelmed them, they did it quickly and that gave them the right to then play in second gear for the rest of the night.
I would like to see Everton take on the Preston game with a similar mentality. They are a great club, with great fans and good players but while they should not be underestimated, they are still a Championship club - they should not be able to reach our level.
We have had so much disappointment in the cup competitions and we cannot afford to risk leaving another stadium with dreams of a cup run in tatters before the season really has any momentum.
Arsenal kept their levels high and I want to see that mentality from David Moyes’ side. So many Everton teams have dropped to the level of the opposition in these early cup rounds, turning a football game into a fight - which is precisely what the underdog wants. They must not do that at Deepdale, that is my demand for the game.
Everton have to take the cups seriously and I would hope they play a strong XI - though I am not saying they should play the strongest XI available. I would, for instance, rest Jarrad Branthwaite just to allow him to keep on top of his fitness at the start of a big season for the centre-back.
I say that just because I do not want to see him put under too much pressure, too early, not because I had any concerns from what I saw against Crystal Palace. He went down on several occasions and while I understand why the supporters around me had their hearts in the mouths, I think he would have loved it.
Sometimes you want that as a defender who has been out - you pick up a few bumps and bruises and wake up sore the next day but having been reminded your body can take it. He would have been delighted to make it through the full game and he would have woken up the next morning and thought: 'I’m back'.
For those who did not start on Saturday and who get an opportunity in midweek, my hope is they will want to prove Moyes wrong for leaving them out. They need to be hungry. That was one of the big problems for me when Everton lost to Wolves in the third round of the Carabao Cup last season.
He made a lot of changes but I am sure his hope would have been that those players he was providing an opportunity to would have wanted to press their case. They did not do that, which brings us back to mentality.
I want Everton to start strong and make this the biggest test Preston face all season. Only once Everton have earned the right to reduce the intensity - if they can do that - should they then consider moving down the gears.