Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Everton ensured they would be top of the Premier League at Christmas, but it was not without controversy.
Victor Gokeres’ penalty for an inadvertent handball by Jake O’Brien in the first half sealed the difference between the two teams at Hill Dickinson Stadium, but there will be more VAR incidents to come.
Everton almost had their own penalty awarded when William Saliba kicked the underside of Tierno Barry’s leg as he tried to clear the ball. VAR checked the incident for a long time after referee Sam Barot did not award a spot kick, claiming that “the contact from Saliba to Barry was not sufficient to award a penalty”.
“I think they’re saying it was minor contact and it may have been,” manager David Moyes told Sky Sports after the game. “That may be true. They come up with new words for each decision, right?”
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Arsenal defender William Saliba’s challenge on Everton’s Tierno Barry is checked for a potential penalty but is cleared.
It was a difficult night for Arsenal. They struggled for the first 15 minutes, but recovered and took the lead. After Gokeres fell under a challenge from O’Brien at the far post and saw a penalty scream waved away, the same Everton defender placed both hands on the ball from Declan Rice’s corner kick to score a clear spot-kick.
Gokeres ended a run of five games without scoring since he last scored against Burnley in early November before his injury. Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard gave him penalty-taking responsibility, and the goal marked the first time in two years that neither the Norwegian nor Bukayo Saka were on the pitch to take a spot-kick.
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Arsenal and Victor Gokeres score big goal after converting a penalty awarded to Everton’s Jake O’Brien in the box
Arsenal held Everton to no shots in the first half, only the second time this has happened in a Premier League home game since Opta records began, but the second half was a different story.
Arsenal found it more difficult as Leandro Trossard and Zvimendi hit the posts twice but a penalty screamed, while Saka’s shot was deflected over the line by James Tarkowski.
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Arsenal’s Leandro Trossard hits the post against Everton in the Premier League
Arsenal relinquished top spot to Manchester City earlier in the day, but are back at the top of the table to end a three-game away winless run in the Premier League.
Redknapp: “Arsenal were lucky with the penalty call”
Jamie Redknapp of Sky Sports:
“We have definitely seen these being given, it reminds me of Joao Pedro at Brighton, who Saliba was also involved with.
“As you can see, Tierno Barry kicked with his right foot and he definitely kicked it.
“You can see Jack Grealish’s reaction, he’s had a stroke. Barry definitely gets his foot up and Saliba kicks him in the back of the heel.
“We saw some penalty decisions this weekend, but there are many worse ones. Like it or not, we have VAR. That’s what it’s for to intervene. They’re very lucky there, Arsenal.”
Analysis: A step in the right direction for Gokeres, who lack firepower?
Victor Gokeres’ penalty gives Arsenal victory
Sam Blitz of Sky Sports:
Much of the pre-match talk was about the future of Viktor Gokeres, with the Swedish forward yet to reach his level under pressure with Gabriel Jesus, Mikel Merino and Kai Havertz returning from injury.
This recent win against Everton, with a penalty in the first half, was a step in the right direction rather than a question mark.
It was a positive goal, but there were other chances. Much has been made about his Arsenal team-mates not noticing his runs, but William Saliba created a good chance in the first half.
In the second period, Leandro Trossard unleashed him with a trademark shot down the left flank, which managed to get past two Everton defenders. It was much closer to the ‘battering ram’ forward the Premier League promised, and his three shots on Merseyside were more than he had achieved in his previous 180 minutes playing in the Premier League for Arsenal.
Arsenal’s players knew they needed to give him goals and the penalty summed it up. It reminded me of October 2023, when the Gunners’ regular penalty taker conceded the spot-kick to give Kai Havertz his first Arsenal goal.
The German finished with 13 goals that season as Arsenal came within two points of the title. Gökeres currently has five players, but importantly he seems to have a deeper understanding with the team.
Arteta: “We’re not paying attention to Man City”
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta told Sky Sports:
“I’m very happy to win here. It’s a really difficult place to come to, but it’s very well organized. And I have to take this opportunity to say what a beautiful stadium they built.
“I was blown away by the atmosphere, the beauty of it. Congratulations. There were some moments in the first half where we were very dominant and we had a couple of big chances, but if we want to be more relaxed at the end, we have to decide in the Premier League. In those moments we have to be more clinical to get a bigger margin.”
“We have to enjoy the process of winning. There will be tough, difficult moments, great moments. It’s all part of the intention and how close we are to winning. We have to take it game by game.”
“We’re not thinking about[Man City]and I know you’re thinking about that too. But from the first day, the only thing that can decide is my performance and the result. We know how long it’s going to be, how tough it is. We just have to do our best.”
“We play tough” – Moyes hits referee with soft foul
Everton manager David Moyes told Sky Sports:
“I thought the performance was competitive. Our spirit and everything we showed, it showed for a long period of the game. There wasn’t enough quality in some of the actions. But overall I think we did a good job against Arsenal. We wanted it to be a tough game and I think it was for them.”
“I don’t think Arsenal gave us too many problems before the penalty kick. In fact, I thought we entered the game better than Arsenal. But we conceded a poor decision by Jake O’Brien to raise his arm and that made it difficult. That was the first corner kick of the game. These things happen. You shouldn’t raise your arm, that’s for sure.”
What he told the referee at full time: I would like to, but I will probably be fined somehow. Find out how to talk to the referee on Sky or don’t bother asking me.
“It was a day where a lot of things went wrong and things didn’t go our way. Quite a few guys were down injured. The referees were furious for them. This is a different football club. We play tough and we expect the same from the referees.”
More to come.
