MATCH PREVIEW: Everton v Arsenal; Time to Channel Spirit of ’97/98

In the 1997/98 season, Arsenal sat fifth with Manchester United four points clear for the title in February of that season. Kicking on from March Arsenal would go on a run that would see them go 8 games without conceding a goal with 10 straight wins. The net result was Arsenal’s first title in 7 years.

It is that spirit that must permeate through this team right now if they are going to knock on for the remainder of the season. The FA Cup is gone. The Champion’s League is gone. All that remains is a glimmer of hope for the title. With no distractions remaining, there should be no reason why this team can’t go on a run and really challenge for the title.

But if you look across that 97/98 teams it had personalities attached to it. Names like Vieira, Bould, Adams, Wright, Bergkamp and others littered the squad. They gave it heart. We look across our current squad and wonder where the heart is.

Sure there is talent aplenty. But as the title chase wore on into the early part of 2016 – Arsenal have looked anything close to having heart or an identity for that matter.

Gone is the fluid and crisp passing. Gone is the scintillating mazy runs. Gone is the scoring.

What remains is a team devoid of any sense of purpose or desire. Efforts seem forced and lackluster. We can’t pass with any purpose or threat to our opponents. Teams have sussed us out and we haven’t adjusted. Frustration is evident and doubt creeps in within every match.

When we looked at the midweek Champion’s League tie versus Barcelona, there were moments when we looked lively and playing with purpose. But the minute that Neymar goal went in, you knew that capitulation was evident.

Sure we can argue whether or not it’s an absence of leaders. Personally, I think leaders in this modern game are a fallacy and part of an era that no longer exists. In its place are teams that play together and for each other. Leaving it all on the pitch for the purpose of the team. If you need an example look at Leicester.

When you watch Leicester play, you have to wonder how they got here. Yes, they have some talented players but not the kind that should be running away with the league. They don’t create a lot and their defending and goalkeeper would be average. But when you look at them collectively they never quit. They just go on and on and on. And you get the impression that they would run through a brick wall for each other and their manager.

Contrast that with Arsenal. You don’t get that sense right now. You got in the first half. You got it throughout most of 2015 in fact. But it’s gone and finger pointing and yelling at each other is common place.

Arsenal need to find themselves and quick.

Arsene Wenger has his biggest task in his hands. Clearly, the team is not living up to its potential. You can say that about a lot of the big teams this season but Arsenal can’t even seem to snap out of it. Wenger has to use whatever coaxing ability he has left to get his players to believe in themselves and their goal of a title.

The damning thing is he has been unable to do this at all during this run of poor form.

Both Everton and Arsenal will be looking for something this match. The hosts under Roberto Martinez are enduring their own run of poor form with the Toffees only winning 1 of their last 8 home matches (1W D2 L5) meanwhile the Gunners have only taken 10 points from the last 27 available (W2 D4 L3.) Something has to give for these teams.

Everton can get the better of Arsenal as evidenced by the 3-0 drubbing we endured in April 2014. But for the most part Arsenal has gotten the better especially in the last 2 match ups where Arsenal have won by a combined 4-1 score.

Arsenal truly need to find it within themselves to pull themselves out of the rut they are in. It’s not too premature to say that should they lose this match the title is gone. Then they have to worry about whether or not the previous minimum requirement of top 4 is achievable.

It says a lot about the league that given our form we’re still in third place. That’s why any type of successful run could catapult the club higher. We’ve done it before. We’ve done it before under Wenger. There is no reason to think we can’t do it again.

Why We should Worry
It will come as no surprise that Romelu Lukaku is the third top goal-scorer in the league. This guy is just a beast. He moves excellently and is effective in all other aspects of his role. The worry point for Arsenal is the match up of Lukaku versus either Per Mertesacker or Gabriel Paulista.

Mertesacker plays a better positional game. But the worry is if he somehow gets turned by Lukaku or out muscled, it will leave the Belgian striker 1v1 against the keeper. Conversely, for all of Gabriel’s grit, he is wreckless in his challenges and what you don’t want to see is Lukaku bearing down in the box with Gabriel coming in with an out-of-control tackle. It would be disaster.

The other point of worry is our wasteful attack. In 7 recent games the shot to goal ratio has been:

Hull (FAC – H) 24/0
Leicester (PL – H) 24/2
Burnley (FAC – H) 23/2
Southampton (PL – H) 22/0
Watford (FAC – H) 20/1
Barca (CL – A) 20/1
Swansea (PL – H) 17/1

We are getting our chances the problem is we can’t put them past the keeper. Many of the shots aren’t challenging the keeper. Sure, in the Hull match at home you could argue their keeper put on a worldly but for the most part shots are direct to the keeper or drifting wide of the target. None really force the keeper to make crucial saves (there are exceptions.)

Arsenal need to be so wasteful with attack.

How the Match Might Play Out
Frankly – your guess is as good as mine. But with both teams looking to get something it will be open and there will be spaces to operate. It will be interesting to see if Martinez comes back with 3 at the back like he did against West Ham. (we’ve highlighted that as a probable lineup below.)

Though he might not want to give that opportunity for our wing players to find that open space behind the MF 4. Or given how bad we’ve been in front of net – he just might be willing to give it a go. As I’ve said how this one guys – I’ve got no idea.

Players to Watch:
Arsenal. Mohamed Elneny. The Egyptian is slowly making his presence felt in the lineup. His passing is solid and he is always available for the ball in transition. Maybe not as full of guile as Santi Cazorla but he has added some much-needed stability to our midfield.

Everton. Romelu Lukaku. See above. He’s a beast.

Probable Lineups:

click to enlarge

Injuries and Suspensions:
Arsenal: Cazorla (ankle), Cech (calf), Flamini (hamstring), Oxlade-Chamberlain (knee), Ramsey (hip), Wilshere (calf), Rosicky (thigh)

Everton: Browning (knee), Hibbert (knee), Barry (suspended 1 of 2), Mirallas (suspended 2 of 2)

Manager’s Take: (Courtesy Arsenal.com)

“I would say we have to go step by step,” he said. “Let’s get back to winning habits first, that starts tomorrow… if we win tomorrow, we’ll see. That’s our target.

“But at the moment, the only way to achieve something special is first to be realistic and humble enough to deal first with Everton.

“Things will change until the end of the season, that’s for sure. We have to take care of our own destiny, and that’s by producing the performances we expect from ourselves.

“It’s very tight, but I believe the Premier League is far from over. We are in a position where we hope for the best. I agree that a negative result would be very bad for us, but we focus on a positive result. We know now is the time for us to produce the result we want.

“We also have to look behind us because things can change very quickly. We want to move forward, but I’m conscious that our position is not secure, even where we are.”

Broadcast Information:
UK: BT Sport 12.45 GMT
US: NBC Sports Network 8:45AM EST

YAMA Predicts:
Everton 2 – 2 Arsenal

Match Facts (Courtest FourFourTwo.com via Opta Sports)

• Olivier Giroud has scored five goals in his last five games in all competitions against Everton, including in each of the last three Barclays Premier League meetings.
• Mesut Ozil has scored two goals and assisted four more in five appearances in all competitions against the Toffees.
• Everton have won just one of the last 18 matches in all competitions against the Gunners (W1 D6 L11).
• Arsene Wenger’s side have won none of the last three Premier League trips to Goodison Park (W0 D2 L1).
• Everton have won just one of their last eight Premier League games at Goodison Park (W1 D2 L5).
• Arsenal have won just two of their last nine Premier League matches on the road (W2 D4 L3).
• Arsenal’s title challenge has faltered in recent weeks with the Gunners taking just 10 points from the last 27 available (W2 D4 L3).
• Arsenal have fired in the fewest shots on target from outside the box this season (25) and scored the joint-fewest goals from long range (two along with Watford and Leicester).
• Roberto Martinez’s team have committed the fewest fouls in the Premier League this season (235).
• Only Arsenal (33) have picked up fewer yellow cards than Everton (36) in the top flight this season