Everton created precious little against champions Arsenal at the Emirates but it was not for lack of effort from the youngest player on the pitch
Despite the defeat, 19-year-old Harrison Armstrong put in a a huge shift in midfield against Arsenal
Despite the defeat, 19-year-old Harrison Armstrong put in a a huge shift in midfield against Arsenal (Image: Alan Walter/Shutterstock)
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Everton lost their second consecutive Premier League game on Saturday as they were beaten 2-0 at Arsenal.
The Blues delivered an underwhelming performance in terms of creating chances as well as again conceding two preventable goals.
In truth, going away to the champions - where Everton haven't won in front of fans for 30 years, either at the Emirates or Highbury - was never going to be easy, but after a battling if imperfect start to the season, it was disappointing to see David Moyes' side fail to gain any sort of momentum until long after the result was settled.
This fixture rarely brings joy for travelling Evertonians. And with only two goals scored by their side in the last seven league games against the Gunners - and the Blues yet to win this season after conceding the first goal - going behind after just six minutes and 18 seconds here was a body blow.
Despite the frustrating nature of the game, Moyes saw more signs of life in Everton's second-half performance than in the first. "We didn't really get to a level which I think would have been good enough to win on the day," the manager told the media after the match.
"We gave away a goal very early, which meant we were sort of half chasing. It felt like we'd got a bit better in the second half and got back into it a little bit more, got a bit closer to Arsenal in the second half, but then they come up with a second goal.
"There was some good stuff but certainly on the defensive side of it. I didn't feel as if we'd done enough from an attacking part of the game."
In creating just 0.62 expected goals (xG) and only hitting the target on three occasions, there is little arguing with Moyes' assessment of Everton's attacking output.
But did the Blues really limit an Arsenal team that has had its own fair share of issues creating chances from open play this season? And can any encouragement be taken from a second-half Everton improvement?
Outnumbered and outplayed
There's no denying Everton were far from their best during a first half that saw them concede a sloppy set-piece goal with less than seven minutes on the clock; frustratingly, it was the first goal notorious set-piece scorers Arsenal have actually fashioned from these situations this season.
The numbers reflect the extent to which the Blues were second best in the first half. The biggest chance for the away side (0.32 xG) was served up on a plate for Thierno Barry, who perhaps could have tried to round David Raya rather than stabbing a weak effort straight at the Arsenal goalkeeper.
Other than that 44th-minute effort - created by an errant Ben White back pass - Everton created just 0.04 xG in the entirety of the first half, managing to complete just 31 of their 45 attempted passes in the final third (68.9%).
Off the ball, 21 clearances and seven blocks tells a story of last-ditch defending as Arsenal sent eight open play crosses and 10 corners into the box in just the first 45 minutes.
While the Gunners haven't been as prolific from them this season, they have developed into a winning time by pragmatically playing for set-pieces in games where they struggle to create significant chances from open play.
Indeed, 0.83 of their 1.32 xG in the first half came from such situations - with the Blues dropping off deep, Arsenal were able to keep the pressure on and play the game their way.
Merlin Rohl, who featured in place of Ainsley Maitland-Niles at right-back, insisted Everton did try to press Arsenal - only being "forced to drop deeper because they've got so much quality on the ball."
While there is no denying that Mikel Arteta's £160m midfield had the greater technical ability, the key to establishing the Gunners' control was actually having superior numbers in the middle of the pitch.
Arsenal took control of possession by creating overloads in central areas through inverted left-back Myles Lewis-Skelly and the inside positioning of Noni Madueke
Arsenal took control of possession by creating overloads in central areas through inverted left-back Myles Lewis-Skelly and the inside positioning of Noni Madueke(Image: Opta)
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Myles Lewis-Skelly started at left-back for Arsenal, but drifted inside in possession to create a box midfield alongside Declan Rice, with Mikel Merino and Martin Odegaard seeing plenty of the ball ahead of the pair.
As the Blues, outnumbered and unable to press effectively, were forced further and further back, White inched higher and higher up the pitch with Noni Madueke drifting inside to create essentially a 2-2-2-4 in attack.
If Everton wanted to press, this meant Brennan Johnson had to follow Lewis-Skelly inside into areas where the Welshman was less comfortable defending and - without seeing much of the rub of the green from referee Tony Harrington - he gave away three fouls before half time.
With the Blues abandoning the press in favour of controlling the space in front of their goal, Odegaard was given time and space to dictate proceedings in midfield.
The Norway international attempted more passes than any other player on the pitch (99) over the course of the game, creating two chances and completing a huge 31 passes into the final third, with a further eight unsuccessful.
Regardless of Everton's inability to control possession, it was alarming that so little pressure was applied to Arsenal's most creative midfielder on the ball - Odegaard also contributing with five shots - the joint-highest tally (alongside Merino, also in this game) of any home player in a single league game this season.
With Everton retreating to defend the box, Martin Odegaard was given space and time on the ball to dictate attacks and work the ball wide to create crossing opportunities and set pieces
With Everton retreating to defend the box, Martin Odegaard was given space and time on the ball to dictate attacks and work the ball wide to create crossing opportunities and set pieces(Image: Opta)
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Odegaard getting the run of the midfield meant he was able to find White repeatedly on the overlap. The right-back received the ball from the No. 8 more times than any other player (18), forcing Tyrique George to track back as Vitalii Mykolenko was dragged infield by the runs of Madueke.
George stood up against the challenge well, winning two of his three tackles and demonstrating admirable work rate, but the Gunners found success in their approach when White beat Mykolenko to cross for Gabriel's headed goal to make it 2-0 in the second half.
Along with the confidence he showed to cut inside and attempt a shot after 17 minutes, George's defensive work was a powerful argument that he should keep his place - possibly on the right - when Jack Grealish returns from the bout of sickness that kept him out of this match.
But it was one player's work rate in midfield that kept Arsenal from ever being 100% comfortable. While neither of Everton's other two starting midfielders, James Garner and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, won more than two duels over the course of the 90 minutes, Harrison Armstrong won eight of the 10 he contested.
In previous weeks, I've been more critical than most about how Armstrong can at times be uninvolved in games - ideally, most supporters would surely want him to have more responsibility in games, such is his precocious skillset - but the 19-year-old certainly didn't disappoint here.
Much more involved than in previous weeks, Armstrong made the fourth-most touches (55) for the Blues and completed 30 of his 34 passes - with only Dewsbury-Hall, Jordan Pickford and James Tarkowski directing more of theirs into the final third as the visitors were mostly forced to go long to make any sort of inroad.
In a statistic that doesn't reflect tremendously on the team performance as a whole, but at least shows Armstrong's desire to make things happen, the youngster was the only outfield player to pass to striker Barry more than once - while also directing more of his passes (7) to attacking midfielder Dewsbury-Hall than to anyone else.
Armstrong covered more total distance (12.6km) and ran further (3.1km) than any other player on the pitch, also attempting more tackles than anyone else (five) as he constantly strived to make up for Arsenal's overload in midfield.
Along with George, Armstrong was one of just two Everton players to win possession in the final third, and he also made two interceptions in a tireless midfield performance in which he didn't deserve to finish on the losing side.
Getting tangled up with Pickford for Arsenal's opening goal didn't look great for Armstrong, but most would argue it is the responsibility of a goalkeeper to give a shout to his defender and command the six-yard box; unfortunately, it was another below-par moment for Everton's No. 1, who hasn't shown his usual consistency this season.
For Armstrong though, it was one of his best appearances to date, and completing the full 90 minutes demonstrated the increased status the Finch Farm graduate is now starting to receive.
Too little, too late
Did Everton get any better in the second half, then? Well, the short answer is no, but an improved final quarter of an hour may provide some cause for encouragement.
There is, however, no getting around the fact that until Mykolenko and Johnson were replaced by Hayden Hackney and Tyler Dibling around the 70-minute mark, Everton failed to have a single shot after the break and played just 14 passes into Arsenal's defensive third.
Despite limiting Arsenal to just two further corners, the Blues won none after the break and struggled to maintain any kind of threat - ultimately conceding the second goal before Moyes pulled the trigger on his substitutions.
By then, it was too little, too late, but there were signs of improvement after Garner moved to left-back and Hackney stepped into midfield, with Dibling also providing better balance on the right.
Neither of the two substitutes misplaced a pass during their outings, and were both better suited to tracking their man into more central positions, with Riccardo Calafiori taking up similar positions to Lewis-Skelly after replacing him in the 68th minute.
Hackney provided the most bang for his buck of any of Everton's midfielders on the day in terms of progressing play forwards, making 10 passes into the final third despite entering the game in the 74th minute, and was central to the one spell of the game in which the Blues genuinely had momentum behind them.
Barring the final 15 minutes, Everton were largely unable to sustain any kind of attacking threat against Arsenal - the changes came too late to have the required impact
Barring the final 15 minutes, Everton were largely unable to sustain any kind of attacking threat against Arsenal - the changes came too late to have the required impact(Image: Opta)
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It was Garner, too, who was influential as Everton created the only real chances they could call their own in the game, putting the cross in as Dewsbury-Hall headed wide, with Hackney, Barry and Carlos Alcaraz also getting shots away in the closing stages.
Ultimately, this wasn't enough to turn the game around, though, and Arsenal were largely comfortable defending their two-goal lead as the clock ticked down and time ran out for the Blues.
Full-back balance causing problems
Well, it wasn't great, was it? Everton's 2-0 loss, still just their second of the season, may have been the most likely outcome, but the passive nature of much of the defeat was far from ideal.
Ultimately, failing to find a solution to Arsenal's numbers superiority in midfield proved too much for the Blues to build any kind of sustained threat as they barely threatened the Gunners until the final 15 minutes, with the press Rohl said the team had intended to execute completely disappearing as soon as the home side built up a head of steam.
Finding the right balance in the full-back positions continues to be a problem for Moyes. Madueke's positioning inside the overlapping White could be a template other sides use against Everton in future, but with Mykolenko now out injured again another solution will need to be found at left-back.
Rohl, as a central midfielder by trade, might have been better suited to start on the right wing and track Lewis-Skelly inside to prevent Arsenal from creating central overloads, but with Maitland-Niles unfancied on Saturday and Jake O'Brien needed at centre-back, Moyes' hands were somewhat tied.
An encouraging cameo from Dibling might lead to more chances on that side, with Johnson still flattering to deceive and making just six touches in the first half, but with options at a premium Moyes will need all of his players to step up if positive momentum is to be regained.
*All statistics used are from Opta unless otherwise stated.