HomeTeams - PLArsenalArsenal vs Everton Preview | Team News, Key Players and Stats

Arsenal vs Everton Preview | Team News, Key Players and Stats

The Premier League’s tenth round of matches are being played this weekend and the table is beginning to take shape, with these two sides both starting the season in good form. Arsenal are still considered by many as potential title challengers with the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United being far from convincing in the opening months of the season. The Gunners have had their struggles, but it is clear that this side can beat anybody on their day as they showed against Bayern Munich on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Everton fell to a disappointing defeat against Manchester United last weekend, but the signs are there that the club could have another very good year.

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Arsenal are currently second in the table, level on points with Manchester United and just two behind Manchester City. They will be aiming for a top three finish and a place at the top of the pile isn’t beyond them as they have a very good squad. The likes of Mesut Ozil, Petr Cech and Alexis Sanchez have won some of the biggest tournaments in world football and their experience is beginning to have an effect at the club, building a winning mentality. The win against Bayern Munich should bring confidence to the club and that could be key in Arsenal going on a run in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile Everton are sitting nicely in 9th position, just four points away from the top four, which gives them a nice platform to push on before Christmas. Romulu Lukaku and Ross Barkley have both been very impressive in the opening nine matches and that partnership will be pivotal for the Toffees going forward as they have the ability to cause every team problems. They have only lost twice, and they have come against both Manchester clubs, showing that Everton will be tough to beat this season.

In this fixture last season, Arsenal managed to win 2-0 with goals from Olivier Giroud and Tomas Rosicky. In the corresponding fixture at Goodison Park, Seamus Coleman and Steven Naismith gave the visitors a two goal lead, before Aaron Ramsay and Olivier Giroud got two late goals to secure a point.

Interesting Stats

Olivier Giroud’s last four goals in all competitions have been as a substitute. This highlights Arsenal’s strength in depth, which is something they have lacked in recent years.

Everton had 12 shots last weekend, which was two more than Manchester United, despite the 3-0 loss. They will need to be more clinical this weekend, if they are to get anything from the match this weekend.

Key Men

Sanchez

Alexis Sanchez had a slow start to the season after 24 months of intense scheduling ending in Chile’s first ever Copa America success. The forward was central to his country’s historic moment and he will be at the centre of things, if Arsenal are to challenge in the Premier League or in Europe this season. In the past few weeks, he has been unstoppable scoring a number of goals and when the Chilean is in top form, Arsenal are arguably the best side in the Premier League. Sanchez is an extraordinary footballer, and is one of the better dribblers in world football. He consistently beats opposition players with his pace, power and low centre of gravity, which allows him to weave in and out of defenders. Another important aspect to his game is his movement in the final third, as he frequently finds space to exploit. This weekend, Arsenal are coming up against a side who are difficult to beat and have a solid back five. They are likely to dominate the game, but finding a way to goal could be problematic, unless Sanchez is in top form.

Stones

As I mentioned above, Everton have a dependable defensive line and John Stones has emerged as the star man. He was chased by Chelsea in the summer, with the champions willing to part with upwards of £30m to land who they consider to be potentially world class. His ability is already evident in the Premier League with his reading of the game and his tackling ability being two of his big assets. He has also displayed maturity in the opening months of the season as he continued to put in top drawer performances, despite being heavily linked with a move away in the press. Everton may have been able to resist the money being offered by Chelsea this summer, but it’s difficult to see them keeping Stones long term as he is headed for the very top of the sport. Arsenal have pace, power and quality in the final third, which makes Stones one of the key players this weekend as the Everton back four will be under intense pressure for large periods of the game. Last weekend, they struggled with Manchester United and they will have to do better at the Emirates Stadium.

Team News

Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere, David Ospina, Tomas Rosicky and Danny Welbeck are all set to be missing for the foreseeable future. Ramsey went off injured against Bayern Munich, and that will be a huge blow for Arsenal as he likely to be missing for at least a month.

Tom Cleverley is a doubt for this weekend. Meanwhile Muhamed Besic, Leighton Baines, Tony Hibbert and Steven Pienaar are all likely to be missing for at least one more week.

Verdict

This weekend is full of excellent football matches and this one could be the pick of the bunch as both teams play attractive football and will be going for a win on Saturday. I think Arsenal will be on a wave of confidence after beating Bayern Munich in the week and they should pick up the three points this weekend. Everton won’t lie down easily though and I expect them to give a better performance than they did against Manchester United. Goals are almost guaranteed this weekend and they will definitely come at the Emirates.

Arsenal 3-1 Everton

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