Arsenal 1 – 1 Everton: Same Old Story
58 comments October 28th, 2006
I’m back, and nothing appears to have changed. Another home game against a side playing 4-5-1, falling behind to a set piece, and struggling back to a 1-1 draw. Echoes of the games against Aston Villa, Man City, and Middlesbrough were everywhere. Whilst we suffered a defeat at City, on the other two occasions we were saved by outstanding contributions from the likes of Theo Walcott. Today, we have Robin van Persie to thank, after his brilliant free-kick finally broke down a resilient Everton.
Arsenal started the game with the same team who had destroyed Reading last weekend, and it looked at first like it might be a similiar game. Knowing that the key to our game-plan is an early goal, we threw everything at Tim Howard’s goal from the first whistle. However, Everton put a spanner in the works: a Tim Cahill-manufactured goal-shaped spanner. A corner was drifted in from the right, and as Kolo Toure missed his header, Cahill stole in to smash the ball into the top of the net. The Emirates was stunned.
From then on, there was an inevitability about Everton’s gameplan. When their lone striker, Andy Johnson, spends most of the game in his own half, it’s clear they weren’t here to attack. But I won’t criticise them for this: if I was an Everton fan, I’d be delighted with the determination they showed to grind out a point. But as an Arsenal fan, I will criticise them for some of their conduct: Mikel Arteta appeared to stamp on William Gallas, and he, Phil Neville, and Simon Davies were allowed to get away with a succession of fouls. They were also guilty of some blatant time wasting, which referee Mike Riley seemed equally unwilling to punish. I admire the likes of Cahill and Johnson, but today Everton came across as a nasty team.
Arsenal, meanwhile, were playing some good football, and deserved to take something from the game. As we threw men forward, Theo Walcott came on at right-back, with Jeremie Aliadiere at left-midfield. Eventually, in the 71st minute, van Persie curled in a beautiful free-kick to equalise.
Although we looked like we might nick a winner, it wasn’t to be. Some will criticise the team for dropping two points on a day when Chelsea and Manchester United won. However, being there in person, it was clear that the players gave everything they had, and were unlucky against a negative side. As for the formation debate, the 4-5-1 was again impressive, but it seems to have had it’s greatest successes against teams who play 4-4-2. When the opposition go like for like, the congestion in midfield can be horrendous.
Still, thanks to a bit of genius from our young dutchman, we didn’t lose. You have to look at it as a point gained. And we played well.
Don’t panic.