MATCH REPORT: Arsenal 2 – 1 Everton

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Arsenal (1) 2 Everton (1) 1
Premier League
Emirates Stadium, Drayton Park, London N5 1BU
Sunday, 19th May 2024. Kick-off time: 4.00pm

(4-3-3) David Raya; Gabriel Magalhães, Ben White, William Saliba, Takehiro Tomiyasu; Thomas Partey, Martin Ødegaard (c), Declan Rice; Leandro Trossard, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli.
Substitutes: Aaron Ramsdale, Gabriel Jesus, Emile Smith-Rowe, Jurrien Timber, Eddie Nketiah, Jakob Kiwior, (Jorge Luiz Frello Filho) Jorginho, Fábio Vieira, Oleksandr Zinchenko.

Scorers: Takehiro Tomiyasu (41 mins), Kai Havertz (88 mins)
Yellow Cards: Thomas Partey, Declan Rice, Jurrien Timber
Arsenal Possession Percentage: 69%

Referee: Michael Oliver
Assistant Referees: Stuart Burt, Dan Cook
Fourth Official: Josh Smith
VAR Team at Stockley Park: VAR Stuart Attwell; AVAR Nick Greenhalgh

Attendance: c.60,000

And so the final day of the season has arrived for us all at last. By the end of the ninety minutes we will all know whether Manchester City have fallen on their sword courtesy of West Ham United or not, and ultimately, one way or another, our fate will be sealed. But hey, what a season we have all had!

With the absence of Bukayo Saka today due to injury, there is still a fantastic party atmosphere here at the Emirates this afternoon, in which we started proceedings today for the last time this season.

In the early stages of this game, we were dominating matters with accurate passing and clever play. A superb cross by Declan Rice found the head of Takehiro Tomiyasu but it went wide of the target.

The match started to quieten down and although we had domination, the visitors still managed to sneak in and grab a half chance, which was cleared adequately by David Raya.

Martin Ødegaard slotted the ball to Declan Rice, who managed to get a left-footed shot in, which was somehow saved by Jordan Pickford, and then Gabriel Martinelli’s right-footed shot from the right side of the penalty area was saved again by the Everton goalie in the centre of the goal.

After a slight delay due to an injury to Idrissa Gueye the match continued with pressure from our team, and it has to be said that frustration appears to be creeping in, as early as the twentieth minute here.

A sublime pass from William Saliba found Kai Havertz, who did very well to hold up the ball before cutting inside to push it onto his left foot; he tried a clever reverse shot in order to try beat Jordan Pickford, but the shot was blocked by an Everton defender.

Unbelievably, Dominic Calvert-Lewin managed to hit the post with a right-footed shot, which was an incredible let-off for us at this point of the proceedings.

Just after the half-hour, both Kai Havertz and Gabriel came close to scoring, but unfortunately their shots were blocked by an alert Everton defence.

Five minutes before the break, the unthinkable happened when we went a goal down because of a free-kick by Idrissa Gueye which ricocheted from Declan Rice’s head and beat David Raya and simply flew into the top right-hand corner of the net.

A minute or so later, we scored the equaliser when our captain passed the ball to Takehiro Tomiyasu who beautifully whacked the ball into the bottom right-hand corner of the net.

During the seven minutes injury time, we continued with the pressure, with the best effort being when Martin Ødegaard passed the ball to Thomas Partey who blasted the ball over the bar. Either way, the first half finished honours even here at the Emirates.

Everton kicked off the most important second half of the season, and within a minute of the restart, we won the ball and started to put pressure on the Everton goal, culminating in a header from Kai Havertz which went just wide of Jordan Pickford’s post.

Kai Havertz was fouled by James Tarkowski who received a yellow card for his trouble, and shortly afterwards Abdoulaye Doucouré also received a yellow card for his foul on Gabriel; unfortunately, Gabriel was unable to continue as he had incurred a shoulder injury, so Oleksandr Zinchenko replaced him just before the hour mark.

A blistering shot from Dominic Calvert-Lewin was saved superbly well by David Raya and at the other end, a Jarrad Braithwaite header from Martin Ødegaard’s corner only got as far as Declan Rice, who hit a powerful shot over the Everton crossbar.

Shortly afterwards, a superb Gabriel Martinelli cross found the head of Kai Havertz, whose header bounced off the crossbar.

Emile Smith-Rowe and Jurrien Timber replaced Thomas Partey and Ben White with twenty minutes of the match remaining, and we continued trying to score a goal desperately as Leandro Trossard’s cut-back pass found Martin Ødegaard, who took a touch before shooting for goal from just outside the Everton six-yard box, but there were defenders everywhere and his effort went back into general play.

Leandro Trossard was replaced by Gabriel Jesus with twelve minutes of normal time remaining in order to grab goals, and patiently we moved forward with effort and desire.

Emile Smith-Rowe, after receiving a great cross from Gabriel Martinelli, hit the crossbar with a downward shot that bounced up and struck it with some force.

A clever shot from Gabriel Jesus was blocked by a defender that went out of play for a corner kick, and with two minutes left on the clock, we finally got the goal that we were looking for when Kai Havertz got the ball in the back of the net after a clever pass from our captain. However, there was a VAR check as it was thought there was a hand-ball from Gabriel Jesus on the build-up, but fortunately the goal was given by referee Michael Oliver.

In the five minutes injury time awarded, despite our best efforts, news came in that Manchester City had defeated West Ham United by three goals to one, and although every man did their very, very best that they could, second place in the Premiership for the season 2023-24 became our fate.

With eighty-nine points from thirty-eight matches, our boys finished just two points behind champions Manchester City. Yes, we deserved better of course, but overall we should be very proud of this season as we have progressed beyond all expectations.

We did poorly in the domestic cup competitions of course, but finishing runners-up in the Premiership and quarter-finalists in the Champions League is absolutely no disgrace. We are all so very proud of you all, and who knows what will happen next season? This could be a springboard for so much more. Well done, chaps!

Remember everyone, keep the faith, get behind the team and the manager, stick with the winners. Have a great summer everyone, see you again in August! Victoria Concordia Crescit.

Steve

Too Dearly Loved To Be Forgotten: Arsenal v Racing Club de Paris 1930-1962 by Steve Ingless (Rangemore Publications, ISBN 978-1-5272-0135-4) is now available on Amazon

Will Arteta’s dream come true?

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So here we are. The morning of the last day of the season and we still have shot of the title. Not since 1999 (I think?) have we been in this position.

Being title contenders is all most of us have asked for over the last decade and a half, and we are finally here. We have backed up last seasons brilliant campaign with a second title challenge in as many years. No matter what happens today we can be incredibly proud of what Mikel Arteta and his players have done this season.

Victory today will see us gain the 2nd most points in our history, and just 1 less than the Invincibles. We have already scored the most goals in our history and have the best defensive record in the league. We can be extremely proud of our 2023/24 campaign, even though we may well ultimately win nothing.

Mikel Arteta still believes our title dreams can come true, and so do I. Even if the bookmakers have us as 8/1 outsiders.

I would be very surprised if Manchester City do not roll over West Ham. The Hammers have won just 1 in 5 as they have limped from European contenders to mid table mediocrity.

Other than putting in one last shift for David Moyes, West Ham players have nothing to play for. They currently sit 9th. They can not finish 8th, not can 10th catch them up.

I do not want to be doom and gloom on the morning of this potentially great day, but I am a realist. If West Ham do win or draw it will be one of the biggest shocks of the season.

From an Arsenal point of view, we just need to focus on ourselves, get the 3 points in the bag.

If West Ham are one of the most out-of-form teams in the league, Everton are one of the most in-form with 4 wins and a draw from their last 5 games. Were it not for their points deduction, they would be just a handful of points behind West Ham.

Today will not be easy for us. Everton, in typical Sean Dyche style, are a solidly built team. Only Arsenal (28), Man City (33) and Liverpool (41) have conceded less than the 49 goals Jordan Pickford has let in this season.

They set up defensively, sacrificing scoring goals for a solid defence (only Sheffield United have scored less). It will not take a genius to work out what will happen today – Arsenal will have around 70% of the possession, will be camped in Everton’s half for most of the game and our opponents will have 10 men behind the ball.

From a personal point of view, I will not be keeping an eye on what is happening in Manchester, for the first half at least. If Manchester City are not winning when I go down on 36 minutes for my half time beer, I might start to take more of an interest. But my focus will be on Arsenal.

It has been a brilliant season. No matter what happens today, have a few beers with your mates, talk about the good times and enjoy your day!

UTA.

Keenos

Arsenal set for the final day we have dreamed of for over a decade

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Afternoon all.

A much later than normal blog today as it has been a busy morning in the Keenos household.

The grass is cut, meat is bought for the BBQ and car has been given a run out. It is only now I am getting a moments rest.

In all honesty, I am glad I have had a busy morning as it has taken my mind off what might or might not happen tomorrow. It does a feel a little like the eve of a cup final and the nerves are beginning to creep in.

The obvious difference between tomorrow and a cup final is it is not Arsenal v Manchester City. We face Everton whilst they are at home to West Ham. It is not a case of “we win, we lift a trophy”.

I have seen a few people make comparisons with this season to 1989. That what we did in Anfield should be enough to give us all hope. And yes you are right. But also wrong.

In 1989 it was still in our hands. We knew if we won by two or more clear goals we would lift the title. Tomorrow it is not in our hands.

We could beat Everton 10-nil and still finish 2nd if Manchester City get the victory. The only way we are winning is if we win our game and City fail to beat West Ham. And I just can not see City failing to beat West Ham.

Tomorrow is more like 99 than 89 to me. We are relying on others rather than ourselves.

But that does not mean I think it is a foregone conclusion. Like Mikel Arteta, I believe the dream is still alive. And I will certainly be laying there in bed tonight thinking about what could happen tomorrow.

So plans for tomorrow?

For me it will be head to Islington for 11ish (it is a 4pm kick off remember). Go to a cafe on Upper Street before heading to The George (now called the Stag) for around 3 hours of drinking.

The George has always had a place in my heart and I still can not believe it has been 6 years since Pete and the team poured their last pint in there. Whilst it phoenixed a couple of years ago, it is not the same gaff that it used to be.

Sadly, The George is once again up for sale, and has been for some months. I would not be surprised the 13ish weeks of no Arsenal will see the end once again and we will return in August to see it boarded up. Once again I will be looking for a new home for my pre and post-match beers (and no, I am not going Brewers!).

If tomorrow is the last day for the second incarnation of The George, hopefully we see it off well regardless of winning the league or not.

For the rest of today it will be a case of keeping myself occupied. A few ciders in the garden before the BBQ goes on. And then it is a focus on tomorrow and the biggest question – will it be shorts weather?

UTA.

Keenos