Jake O'Brien in action for Everton.
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David Moyes managing Everton (left) and Mikel Arteta managing Arsenal (right)
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Hull City v Everton - Premier League 2026/27
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David Moyes looks on.
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Arsenal FC v Everton - Premier League 2026/27
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David Moyes looks on.
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Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall warms up for Everton.
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Everton make the daunting trip to the Emirates Stadium this weekend to face Arsenal in the Premier League, and it’s safe to say fans aren’t so confident heading into this one.
After losing 2-0 to Chelsea last weekend, Everton need to respond. But standing in their way of victory are the Premier League champions, who have won six out of their seven Premier League games so far.
Mikel Arteta’s side have only slipped up against Brighton so far, winning all of their home matches this campaign by an aggregate scoreline of 10-2.
They are the heavy favourites to win Saturday’s game, and both Everton and David Moyes’ records at the Emirates Stadium are certainly not encouraging.
But despite this, there are still a few reasons for genuine optimism for Everton fans.
How are you feeling about this match? Join us and follow this TalkingPoint as we visit Arsenal.
You wish, not under Moyes.
I agree.
If we are not going to use them, put them in the under 21’s to give them some game time.
Champions League involvement for Arsenal
Arsenal have a Champions League match against Bayern Munich, no less, on Wednesday night and this is something that could boost Everton’s chances.
Given Bayern are one of the best sides in the world, the match could well be intense and demanding. It could be a bit of a leveller for Everton with Arsenal only having a couple of days to recover. Arteta likely won’t be too happy that the game is on a Saturday. By contrast, Bayern’s league game at the weekend against Freiburg is on the Sunday.
Arsenal are an incredibly fit and hardworking side though, having ranked third last season for collective km covered by Premier League teams (via Opta Analyst), so any drop-off could well be minimal.
Arsenal not as strong on set-pieces and lacking goals
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal have built a reputation for being a big, physical team, with set-piece goals being one of their huge strengths.
However, that big strength hasn’t quite been on show so far this season. Arsenal are yet to score a single goal from a set-piece – they’re one of just four sides yet to get off the mark, the others being Liverpool, Manchester United and Nottingham Forest.
They scored 19 from corners last term, making it five straight seasons of getting at least 15+ non-penalty set-piece goals. But the threat isn’t as great this term, which will encourage Everton. As per Sky Sports, their xG is 2.50, so they are way underperforming when it comes to set-pieces.
Everton have yet to concede from a set-piece so far, which bodes well. And by contrast, the Toffees have scored three set-piece goals themselves, so potentially this could be an avenue where Everton can hurt Arsenal.
James Tarkowski is the league-leader for duels won so far, and Jarrad Branthwaite is also great in the air, so the chances of an Arsenal set-piece goal this weekend do feel a bit lower than usual.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall improving
There remains some frustration over Thierno Barry at the moment, with the Frenchman still lacking ruthlessness in front of goal.
He’s scored six goals across all competitions so far this season, but has missed 11 big chances now in the Premier League, which isn’t great.
So it’s important that other players provide threat, and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was back amongst the goals recently in the draw with Hull City. And he actually ranks joint-third in the Premier League for number of chances created so far, with only Florian Wirtz and Pascal Gross above him.
Dewsbury-Hall hasn’t yet hit the heights we know he can, but in the last couple of games he’s looked better, and several of his physical and defensive data metrics have been quite impressive.
He’s never scored against Arsenal and lost all six of the games he’s played against the Gunners, but Dewsbury-Hall is a determined character and he’ll be very keen to make an impact this week to help his side get back on track.