Everton 1 – 4 Arsenal: Top at Christmas; Top at New Year’s
1 comment December 30th, 2007
Were we ever off the top of the table? It doesn’t really feel like it. After a Manchester United side who our more pessimistic fans had declared invincible succumbed to (of all people) West Ham, a fantastic win at Goodison Park took us back into first place, this time with a two point advantage. It means that from fixtures against Chelsea, Spurs, Portsmouth and Everton, we’ve taken ten points from a possible twelve: an excellent return.
At half-time, it looked as if we’d still be languising in second place come full-time. Everton had taken the lead through either Tim Cahill or Yakubu (I still haven’t quite worked out who connected with an excellent Mikel Arteta corner), and we were deeply uninspiring. Bendtner and Eduardo had started upfront, and the pair were not receiving any service at all from a lacklustre midfield. The below-par form of Cesc Fabregas and Alex Hleb is providing real cause for concern – Cesc’s goal spree at the beginning of the season certainly feels a long time ago now.
The second half brought a change of tack, and a change of tactics. I’ve often insisted that Gael Clichy can’t really cross, but it seems he plays a handy long ball. His first hefty clearance evaded Nicklas Bendtner but bounced through to Eduardo, who had ghosted into the penalty area. The Croatian doesn’t need a second invitation to score, and calmly lifted the ball past Tim Howard and into the net for an equaliser.
Within 11 minutes he had a second. This time Clichy’s ball did find Bendtner, whose flick was surroptitiously handled by Eduardo. Never mind that (unless you’re an Everton fan) – what followed was Bergkamp-esque: a flick around the defender before regaining balance and calmly slotting into the near post. A stunning finish from a player who has scored nine goals despite barely making an impression on the first-team. In an Arsenal side often guilty of overplaying, Eduardo does the minimum neccessary to score.
Suddenly we were in front, and starting to look comfortable. But then Nicklas Bendtner made me look like a fool after bigging him up yesterday with a stupid sending off. Adebayor had been waiting on the touchline to replace him for some time, and it wouldn’t surprise me if Bendtner had a fairly good idea he would be coming off. Already on a booking, he then launched into a horriffic challenge on Tim Cahill, and was lucky to escape with just a second yellow rather than a straight red. The young Dane has much to learn.
Adebayor instead replaced Eduardo, and carried on where the Croatian left off, killing the game with ten minutes to go with yet another route one goal. A punt upfield from Manuel Almunia resulted in confusion between Yobo and Howard, and Adebayor nipped in to reap the benefit.
The game then descended into a violent farce. Arteta was dismissed for an elbow on his friend Cesc Fabregas (who didn’t dive, despite accusations), and Tim Cahill made a pest of himself, infuriating Toure and Flamini (who was booked and will now miss the FA Cup tie at Burnley).
In injury time, we rubbed salt into the wounds with a fourth. Adebayor brought the ball down and played a neat one-two with Diaby, who slid the ball to Rosicky. The Czech midfielder looked up before firing the ball into the near post to put the icing on a particularly delicious cake.
It was a flattering scoreline, but then I don’t mind being flattered. Our second half performance deserved the result, whatever the bitter ramblings of David Moyes might imply. Seeing Eduardo finish like that was a real boost, and now he has his first Premier League goals I’m looking forward to the prospect of him partnering Adebayor against West Ham.
Two players seem to be on their way out of the club. Borussia Dortmund have refused to comment on speculation linking them with Jens Lehmann, whilst Gilberto Silva didn’t make the bench for either the Portsmouth or Everton games. That would leave only Kolo Toure from the famous Invincible XI remaining at the club – quite a remarkable turnaround in personnel.
Milan have declared Yohann Gourcuff surplus to requirements. With Luka Modric yesterday deciding to stay at Dinamo Zagreb until the summer, he could provide a welcome boost in the wide areas.
Still top of the league: Happy New Year!
