In the Premier League, Arsenal claimed a 2-1 victory over Everton. The sight of Takehiro Tomiyasu netting a significant equaliser against Everton ignited the belief of a possible miracle for both Mikel Arteta and Arsenal followers. This belief was further fuelled by whispers of West Ham scoring their second goal against Manchester City, circulating among the spectators at Emirates Stadium.
Earlier, Arsenal had unexpectedly found themselves falling behind due to Idrissa Gueye’s free-kick, which was unintentionally deflected by Declan Rice. This half-inch of hope reignited Arsenal’s ambition to finally clinch the Premier League title after a two-decade hiatus. However, the unfortunate certainty of City’s unwavering determination was evidenced by Rodri’s clinching third goal, securing their fourth consecutive league title, news of which reached the stadium just shy of the 60-minute mark.
Except for a small number of spectators, Arsenal’s fans endured until the very end, cheering on their team’s pursuit of a pinnacle victory. This pursuit culminated in pushing Arteta’s team to attain 89 points, the second-best performance following Arsène Wenger’s Invincibles, courtesy of a late 89th-minute goal by Kai Havertz, his 13th of the season. This near victory was almost derailed by Emile Smith Rowe and Gabriel Jesus late in the game, suggesting that while Arsenal’s performance against Sean Dyche’s strategic Everton was commendable, there is still room for improvement.
Bright anticipation blanketed the Emirates ahead of the match, with fans creating a festive environment outside the stadium. Josh Kroenke, the club’s co-chair, underlined in his pre-match comment that irrespective of the result, the club’s progress would continue its forward momentum. This follows the club’s investment of over £200 million in new talent during the previous summer.
Yet one major issue to resolve is their over-dependency on Bukayo Saka, who was ruled out of contention due to a muscle issue acquired in their previous win over Manchester United. However, in good news, Jurrien Timber’s return from a knee injury offered a welcome reinforcement, showcasing the abundant potential Arteta already possesses within his squad.
Everton began the match by placing Ashley Young and Séamus Coleman, who together are 73 years old and both were just offered new contracts, in the role of full backs. The responsibility for spearheading the attack was given to Dominic Calvert-Lewin. However, it was the audience from the visiting team who seemed to be enjoying a rare relaxed final day, their spirits uplifted as they received word of City’s initial lead.
Arteta revealed his irritation; first by clapping when Tomiyasu missed the goal after receiving a pass from Rice, and second, when Rice failed to capitalise on Jarrad Branthwaite’s error of passing the ball to Havertz in their area. Everton were rescued by goalie Jordan Pickford twice in a five-minute interval. First, he saved a volley from Leandro Trossard, then denied Gabriel Martinelli in a full-stretch effort. Gabriel sought medical attention after being hit directly in the face by a free-kick from Calvert-Lewin, coinciding with the news of City’s second goal. Everton fans took a dig, accusing the opponents of almost winning the league.
Not even a period of 20 minutes into the game, and several home supporters, who took advantage of the game’s halt for a water break to grab refreshments, seemed resigned to their fate. During their absence, they would have missed Calvert-Lewin’s near-miss attempt to put Everton ahead, only managed to hit the post and failed to secure the rebound.
Despite possessing the majority of the game control, Arsenal’s offensive struggled. Thomas Partey was penalised for bringing down Dwight McNeil while he was in momentum. Although Gueye’s free-kick initially looked amiss, Rice inadvertently deflected it past a distressed David Raya. The situation appeared grim.
Nevertheless, a swift strategy that involved Martin Ødegaard assisting Tomiyasu’s successful shot led to Arsenal equalising in mere moments. Concurrently, news filtering in that West Ham had scored a goal stirred the audience. The false claim of David Moyes’s team drawing level did not succeed in quelling the nerves of the Arsenal followers.
In an evident display of his ambitious plans for an offensive play, Arteta ushered his team onto the pitch earlier than usual for the second half. Soon after, Gabriel was forced to leave the game, holding his shoulder, following a scuffle with Abdoulaye Doucouré. Soon afterwards, Havertz narrowly missed hitting the goal by striking the post with a header, off a cross from Martinelli. There was an impressive display of the goalie’s agility when Pickford somehow managed to keep out a close-range attempt from Ødegaard. Smith Rowe’s subsequent shot was thwarted by Branthwaite and he was unfortunate with his volley deflecting off the crossbar, just seven minutes before the end.
However, Havertz delivered the decisive hit towards the end, after Ødegaard’s attempt was blocked by Pickford. This ensured at the very least that Arsenal upheld their part of the deal, even if City couldn’t keep up with them. – The Guardian