Everton humbled by Arsenal in 5-1 thrashing

Playing at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, Everton were swept aside by Arsenal. Aaron Ramsey hit three whilst Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored for the Blues.

The Blue half of Merseyside opened February with a particularly pathetic display. Playing at the Emirates Stadium in the late Saturday kick off, Everton were swept aside by a dynamic Arsenal team.

At no point did the Toffees look comfortable, and despite starting with five at the back, the defence looked porous and ultimately unwilling to dig deep to stop the flow of Gunner goals.

The game started awfully for Sam Allardyce’s men. Arsenal were ahead after just six minutes, as a quick move created gaping holes in the Blues’ backline. Aaron Ramsey found himself in acres of space and finished coolly past Jordan Pickford.

The goals kept flowing. Koscielny headed home from a routine corner, before Ramsey added a second with a skewed effort from 20 yards. Debutant Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang would score next, although he was clearly offside. Already Everton were four down, and it was game over after 37 minutes.

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After the half-time break, Allardyce switched it up by introducing Tom Davies for Michael Keane. For some time, the Blues looked on par, and managed to open their account with a Dominic Calvert-Lewin strike on 64 minutes.

Allardyce switched Calvert-Lewin on for Theo Walcott earlier, much to the chagrin of both sets of supporters. Walcott, much loved at Arsenal, had looked Everton’s brightest spark in their torrid first half, and did not deserve to be hooked.

Late on, Aaron Ramsey would complete his hat-trick, as the Everton defence again failed to close the gaps in the penalty area. Arsenal saw the game out, and left 5-1 winners.

The Verdict

Watching the game as an Everton fan was painful. Arsenal toyed with the Blues’ defence, keeping the ball in and around Pickford’s penalty box effortlessly. Henrik Mkhitryan’s obscene amount of touches and subsequent assists on his Arsenal debut, is indicative of this trend.

That isn’t to say that Everton met an unstoppable force. The defence was truly terrible, and Eliaquim Mangala had a particular poor match in his first game in a royal blue shirt.

As is a trend this season, the midfield, geared to defend on paper, offered no protection. Morgan Schneiderlin again looked reluctant to impose himself in the middle of the park.

I didn’t mind the Everton attack in this game. It was primed to counter, and the Blues had a couple of chances thanks to the speed of Walcott and Yannick Bolasie. Sadly, this would prove irrelevant due to the calamitous display by the defence.

Moving Forward

Everton next face Crystal Palace at home. The Blues risk falling dangerously close to the drop zone if they lose against Roy Hodgson’s side. Allardyce and his team desperately need all three points.

In other news, Ademola Lookman scored the winner on his loan debut for RB Leipzeig, which took the Red Bull club to third in the Bundesliga. It was a nice dribble and finish, which you can see via BT Sport here.

As noted by the Liverpool Echo, RB Leipzig are only intending to use Lookman as ‘back-up.’ However, if the former Charlton man continues to score as he did on Saturday night, he could well become a regular in Germany.

Next: Is Mangala the solution at left-back?

Now over to you. Who do you think deserves the blame for the loss against Arsenal? How should Everton line up next week? Share your thoughts below.