Arsenal 4-0 Everton as Saka and Martinelli lead Gunners to five-point lead in Premier League
Arsenal came into the Emirates Stadium for their midweek Premier League match against Everton with one thing on their mind: revenge.
Arsenal 4-0 Everton as Saka and Martinelli lead Gunners to five-point lead in Premier League
They achieved just that, pouring on the attack in a 4-0 victory that saw them cash in their game in hand atop the Premier League table to go five points clear of Manchester City in the title race.
Everton looked like a typical Sean Dyche side for the first 40 minutes, bunkered in and able to stifle the Arsenal attack. Then Bukayo Saka produced a moment of brilliance to breach the deadlock, and the floodgates opened for the hosts.
Saka’s opener was followed quickly by a second before halftime through Gabriel Martinelli, who capitalised on a glaring Idrissa Gueye error to double the lead moments before the break. They added two more in the second half as Martin Odegaard got one and Martinelli added a second, and it could have been more if not for a few quality Jordan Pickford saves. Aaron Ramsdale had two big moments of his own to preserve the clean sheet, but ultimately on the whole Everton were well beaten.
The performance was a resounding one from Arsenal, who hit back at relegation-threatened Everton for the 1-0 defeat at Goodison Park a month ago that allowed the Man City threat to draw ever nearer in the Premier League title race. Now with a five-point cushion and a sumptuous performance in their pocket, Arsenal welcome another drop threat in Bournemouth to the Emirates on the weekend.
Arsenal vs Everton final score
| 1H | 2H | Score | |
| Arsenal | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Everton | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Goals:
40th min — ARS — Bukayo Saka
45+1 min — ARS — Gabriel Martinelli
71st min — ARS — Martin Odegaard
81st min — ARS — Gabriel Martinelli
Confirmed lineups:
Arsenal (4-3-3, right to left): 1. Ramsdale (GK) — 4. White, 12. Saliba, 6. Gabriel, 35. Zinchenko – 8. Odegaard, 20. Jorginho (Partey, 46′), 34. Xhaka (Viera, 72′) — 7. Saka (Smith Rowe, 82′), 19. Trossard (Nketiah, 72′), 11. Martinelli.
Everton (4-5-1, right to left): 1. Pickford (GK) — 23. Coleman (Godfrey, 61′), 5. Keane, 2. Tarkowski, 19. Mykolenko — 17. Iwobi, 16. Doucoure (Davies, 79′), 27. Gueye (Holgate, 46′), 8. Onana, 7. McNeil — 20. Maupay (Gray, 61′).
