Mikel Arteta’s return to Goodison Park was hardly the high-octane, emotional reunion it could have been as Arsenal ran out fortunate but deserved victors in a 1-0 win. Reaction to this one is multifarious to say the least, so it seems best to take it one step at a time.
First and foremost, the reception. Arteta was greeted warmly by all fans, which was pleasing – in fact it was the loudest Evertonian cheer of a quite miserable night.
Acknowledging the home supporters during the game as he was taking a corner was a nice touch from the Spaniard, so go on and prosper with our blessing Mikel, that’s the way to do it.
Next, his performance. You couldn’t fault it. Arteta moved the ball well, pivoted the play and provided an option for nearly every one of his teammates. Watching him intently in research of this post, the close analysis was thoroughly impressive.
Twice I counted more than 20 Arsenal passes from one side to the other and back again, and both times, Arteta had more than 10 touches – every other pass as he brought in the rest of the team alternately.
Control
It really was a masterclass in control though it would be disingenuous to omit mention of Everton’s lackluster showing in the first half. For the entire 45, the Toffees were sluggish, slack and downright lazy, not getting anywhere near close enough to their much more assured counterparts.
It was one of those games at Goodison where you could tell within the first few moments that we were going to concede the first goal.
And so it proved as Thomas Vermaelen rose between four Everton players to head home Robin van Persie’s corner. And though I had practically the best seat in the house to witness the Dutchman’s fantastic technical ability in swinging in the cross – sat in row 3 of the Paddock as I was – he could sod off for all I cared.
One other effect of my pitchside, Paddock location was an ability to monitor closely the performance of the linesman, as one tends to in such seats – which brings me to the game’s main talking point.
Leaving the crowd, my comment to my dad was as follows: “I really hope Moyes says something about the linesmen tonight, it really was disgraceful”. Having arrived home and switched on Match of the Day, the confirmation of that was galling.
Royston Drenthe was not one yard, but two yards onside when he scored what should have been a brilliant Arsenal-esque team goal of an equaliser. I was glad to see Moyes mention it in his post-match interview.
By his count, it was five incorrect offside decisions given against us, and that is so appallingly bad, it is actually quite suspect.
Credit where it’s due
It really is tempting to go into a big ‘officials-should-be-more-accountable’ rant now, but it seems a wiser choice editorially to give Everton some overdue credit. A fair crack of the whip from the men in black in the last two games and we could have secured a place in the Wembley vengeance-fest against Liverpool and possibly beaten an Arsenal side who fully deserve their third place in the Premier League.
In terms of the team, Jelavic was again decent but Wednesday’s performance will much more likely be filed under ‘getting there’ rather than ‘firing on all cylinders’. He went down far too easily though and that didn’t help the cause. Steven Pienaar and Leighton Baines were massively disappointing, especially the former, and for me Moyes continues to mix up Tim Cahill and Leon Osman’s roles.
Osman’s slightly more advanced position requires pace and energy whereas Cahill’s move deeper is not so much a tactical switch but an admission of age. Swap them around Davey! Osman is much more the considered technician we need to see the pass and play it; Cahill has always been about instinct and action. Ossie can’t run and Cahill ain’t savvy -play to their strengths.
The two stand-out performers were Marouane Fellaini and Sylvain Distin, the latter in particular has impressed of late.
Trawling through the internet and learning of Distin’s one-year contract renewal was really the best bit of news in a while. Even when all other 10 players have been abysmal for long spells in recent games, the Frenchman has been a figure of utter class and composure. I would quite confidently suggest that he is worth the ticket price alone at the moment.
More or less perfect
Delving back into a bit of Arsenal analysis, prevailing sentiment echoes the Arteta judgement: you just can’t fault them. The key strengths to the Gunners’ strategy – ball retention, movement off the ball, stretching the play, supporting the wingers, recycling possession – were all more or less perfect, and as for the defence, well that deserves a paragraph of its own.
Laurent Koscielny was neat, efficient – he did not switch off for a second – but in Thomas Vermaelen, Arsenal really have just the player they need. Several times, the Belgian absolutely slammed into tackles clearing out everyone in his path – nothing illegal, simply the aggressive statement of strength that Arsenal have lacked. Both full-backs also attacked and defended expertly for the entire game.
Having witnessed them in the flesh, take it from me that the statistic about Arsenal conceding just four goals in a run of six consecutive league victories is not in any way misleading. Arsenal’s defence looked so powerful, confident, switched on and cohesive that I actually felt sorry for them.
I was left in no doubt: a full-strength squad for the season and Arsenal would have been title contenders given Van Persie’s incredible goal scoring.
If the Dutchman stays next year and Arsenal maintain their first choice back five, with increased opportunities for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and also the return of Jack Wilshere, the Gunners have the makings of a great team. Good luck to them and particularly Mr Wenger on that one, I for one will be delighted to watch.
As for the Blues, well it’s not all doom and gloom, though it may be this Saturday when we face a Swansea side in the form of a fantastic season.
The Arsenal game will have prepared the players well for the long passages they will spend chasing shadows, which a compliment to the them rather than a criticism of us.
In terms of a Moyes report: we need a few tweaks but nothing more. Everything is getting there – at the wrong time admittedly – but we competed with the best team in the league at the moment and essentially, we were robbed, and there is no shame in that.
By Chris Smith
To read ‘Part One: Arteta returns to Goodison – Preview’ click here or to return to the homepage, click here.
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