The Chris Beesley talking point after Everton's last-gasp 1-1 draw at Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League
BRIGHTON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 31: Harrison Armstrong of Everton is fouled by Kaoru Mitoma of Brighton & Hove Albion during the Premier League match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Everton at Amex Stadium on January 31, 2026 in Brighton, England. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Harrison Armstrong of Everton is fouled by Kaoru Mitoma of Brighton & Hove Albion during the Premier League match at Amex Stadium on January 31, 2026
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While this was yet another closely fought Premier League contest that demonstrated how you can throw a blanket over so many teams in the division this season, Harrison Armstrong again proved that he looks far from out of place in the world’s toughest domestic football competition. In the next 48 hours, as he digests the details of this contest after the emotions of a last-gasp draw, Everton manager David Moyes must decide what to do next with his precocious young talent.
Having brought Armstrong back early on New Year’s Day from his season long loan at Preston North End, the Blues boss has used the Scouse starlet extensively throughout January.
Brought on as a substitute against Brentford in Everton’s first game of 2026, the player who turned 19 this month has now started their last five matches.
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Not just that, but he’s earned rave reviews for a series of displays in which he’s been more than a match for many of his older and far more experienced opponents, particularly in the 1-0 victory in the Blues’ previous away fixture at Aston Villa, which was arguably their best win of the season to date.
Here, at the Amex Stadium, Armstrong had to get to grips with the demands of yet another new role on the right-hand side, but like every challenge that has been presented to him, he passed the test with flying colours, giving his Glaswegian gaffer a conundrum over the next two days whether to keep him as part of his squad for the remainder of the season or send him back to Deepdale to continue his football education.
The Blue Wall
Hill Dickinson Stadium architect Dan Meis said he wanted the South Stand at Everton’s new home by the banks of the Mersey to be “The Blue Wall,” but Moyes created it on the Amex Stadium pitch.
As someone who has shared many a mixed zone with James Tarkowski in recent years, this correspondent showed his bravery – or foolishness – by asking him about his vital statistics in our post-match interview at the Amex. Having read varying accounts over what his official height was, including 6ft 1in, which is how tall I am and having looked him in the eye on plenty of occasions, I felt he was bigger than me, I popped the question to Everton’s captain, who insisted he’s 6ft 3in “with his big studs on.”
Whatever the tape measures might confirm about Tarkowski’s official height, what he did admit was that on this occasion, he was for once the shortest member of the Blues’ ‘land of the giants’ backline, which he quipped was probably the first occasion in which the two full-backs (6ft 5in Jarrad Branthwaite and 6ft 6inJake O’Brien) were both taller than the two centre-backs.
This was the first time all season that Moyes had all four of his central defenders available to him and he picked them all with Michael Keane restored to the side after his three-match suspension.
The unusual combination, brought about by Vitalii Mykolenko’s absence after picking up a knock in training was described by one wag in the Media Room at the Amex as “Tony Pulis’ dream,” but given that Moyes is a self-proclaimed fan of German football, it was apt that Everton statistician Gavin Buckland obtained the Teutonic term for the four centre-back combo that denied Fabian Hurzeler victory.
We’re told such instances are called ‘Viererketter aus Innenverteidigern’ (Back four of centre-backs) and that’s a very big term for a very big set of defenders.
Garner ton up
Unlike Armstrong, the first Scouser to play in a competitive match at Hill Dickinson Stadium, James Garner was a young Merseysider who moved away for his football education at Manchester United, but having returned back down the East Lancs Road to join Everton in 2022, he’s looking increasingly like a polished performer.
Many at the Red Devils were left upset when Old Trafford chiefs cashed in on Garner for £9million and felt the club had given up too soon on a player who had been with them since under-eights level and those fears appear to have been well-judged.
Having signed a richly deserved new long-term contract with the Blues last week, Garner marked his 100th Premier League appearance with a decisive contribution to his side’s last-gasp equaliser. With the clock ticking down, many would have been tempted to just pump the ball into the box, but Garner took a touch before dispatching his delivery and although home captain Lewis Dunk got his head on it, the trap had been set.
Turning 25 on March 13, Garner has gone up a couple of levels this season and set the tone during Idrissa Gueye’s triumphant stint at the Africa Cup of Nations to run the show as Everton’s main man in the middle.
He’s still readjusting to the dynamics of having the veteran Senegal international alongside him once more, but this was another smart showing.