On horseback with unleashed emotions, inflamed by the fans, by the music —north london forever— and for the scent of a title that they have not lifted since 2004, Arsenal wore down the compact Everton this Wednesday before tearing them to shreds in two brilliant actions, the culmination of a divine, simple, fast, unstoppable football at the feet of enthusiastic and generous players . The 2-0 before the break had no turning back. He plunged the Liverpool club into the relegation zone and consolidated Arsenal as the exultant leader of the Premier, with a five-point advantage over the pursuer, Manchester City, on the night that both equaled the 25 games played.
4
Aaron Ramsdale, Gabriel, William Saliba, Ben White, Zinchenko (Tierney, min. 81), Xhaka (Fabio Daniel Vieira, min. 72), Jorginho (Thomas, min. 45), Odegaard, Trossard (Eddie Nketiah, min. 72 ), Martinelli and Bukayo Saka (Emile Smith-Rowe, min. 81)
0
Jordan Pickford, James Tarkowski, Mykolenko, Coleman (Ben Godfrey, min. 60), Michael Keane, Dwight McNeil, Idrissa Gueye (Mason Holgate, min. 45), Amadou Onana, Doucouré (Thomas Davies, min. 78), Alex Iwobi and Neal Maupay (Gray, min. 60)
goals 1-0 min. 40: Bukayo Saka. 2-0 min. 45: Martinelli. 3-0 min. 70: Odegard. 4-0 min. 80: Martinelli.
Referee michael oliver
Yellow cards James Tarkowski (min. 51) and Ben Godfrey (min. 65)
“We are facing a huge opportunity to break through,” warned Mikel Arteta the day before. The Arsenal manager sat down the young Nketiah to put him in the position of false nine to Trossard and Martinelli, two light wingers, adventurous and dedicated who alternated between the left wing and the center of the attack like two mosquitoes between the horns of a buffalo. For 40 minutes Everton’s resistance seemed irreducible. There was no room for a pin in the block of blue uniforms, each time more withdrawn and more packed together. Little by little, however, the combinations and counter-pressure ended up eroding the defenders and the pivots that the visiting team accumulated in front of the international goalkeeper, Jordan Pickford.
The Arsenal functioned as a demolition unit. Beginning with Saliba and Magalhaes, their centrals, and ending with their interiors, the key to all the imbalances caused in the rival. Sometimes the pivot Jorginho, others the false full-back Zinchenko, most of the time the ubiquitous Odegaard, alternated to venture into midfield and change the horizon of the play in a dance that had a multiplier effect for their attackers. Saka, Martinelli and Trossard, at first locked in Pickford’s pen, gradually loosened up. Around minute 40 Martinelli joined Zinchenko in the central lanes before the Ukrainian set up Saka. The Englishman scored the first, preamble to the second, which he himself served with a steal for Martinelli to finish off.
to new heights
Gueye wins, stunned by Saka’s pressure, was portrayed in the loss that ended in 2-0. The Everton midfielder did not see the outrageous Saka coming, who at the age of 21 became one of the six players in the history of the Premier who at that age participated in 50 goals with shots or assists. Arsenal stuff. Things from a team that has climbed several steps in six months to reach the top of the competitive level in Europe. It won’t come down from there easily. On the contrary, it seems packed towards new heights, judging by the synchronization that Odegaard, Trossard and Martinelli established in the second half, an avalanche of walls, left and counter-left on the way to 3-0 and 4-0 in the ruins of Everton.
In the other match of the day, Liverpool beat Wolverhampton (2-0) at Anfield. The victory pushes Klopp’s team to sixth position and six points behind Tottenham, fourth in the Champions League.
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