Arsenal finally ended their three-game losing streak at Goodison Park on Sunday with a hard-fought lone-goal victory against Everton.
Leandro Trossard emerged as the hero for the Gunners, securing the winner in the 69th minute, assisted by the brilliant Bukayo Saka.
This victory marked Arsenal’s first triumph at Goodison Park since 2017 and their second consecutive win of the season.
The game
The match kicked off with early chances for both sides.
Martin Odegaard’s pinpoint pass created an opportunity for Eddie Nketiah within five minutes, but Jordan Pickford’s quick reflexes denied the Gunners an early lead.
Fabio Viera then failed to capitalise on a 10th-minute chance, sending Oleksandr Zinchenko’s pass off target.
Arsenal’s persistence appeared to have paid off in the 19th minute when Viera’s through ball found Gabriel Martinelli, who calmly slotted the ball past Pickford.
However, VAR intervened, disallowing the goal due to an offside position by Nketiah during the build-up, causing frustration for the Gunners.
The woes continued for Arsenal as Leandro Trossard had to be hurriedly brought in the 24th minute due to an injury cupped by Gabriel Martinelli
Despite this setback, the Gunners continued to dominate possession, and William Saliba made a crucial defensive intervention in the 30th minute to thwart Everton’s attack.
In the 31st minute, Abdoulaye Decoure’s promising run into Arsenal’s box was halted by the young French defender Saliba, who made a timely challenge.
Shortly after, David Raya, making his debut for Arsenal, made a decent effort to save Idrissa Gueye’s long-distance shot in the 32nd minute.
As the first half progressed, Arsenal remained in control, with Ben White testing Pickford’s skills with a shot from the edge of the box.
Despite their dominance, the Gunners were unable to break the deadlock before halftime and things were still not looking good for the Londoners when they returned for the second 45 minutes.
After a couple of missed chances, first-half substitute Trossard provided Arsenal the breakthrough they badly coveted with a crucial goal in the 69th minute.
The ball was worked between Zinchenko and Odegaard to Bukayo Saka whose cutback was cleverly steered in left-footed via the far post by the Belgian for his first goal since February.
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Hard as Everton tried to get at least a share of the spoils, they were denied by the Gunners who held on for a famous win that sees them stay in the fourth spot on the log with 13 points from five games.
As for the Toffees, they are languishing in the 18th position having secured just one point from their first five games of the season.
Elsewhere, at the Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth and Chelsea played out a goalless draw, with neither side able to break the deadlock in a pulsating encounter.
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