Everton sink Arsenal as Yerry Mina header piles pressure on Arteta | Football

Mikel Arteta received polite applause from the Gwladys Street on his return to Goodison Park but little else as Arsenal’s miserable run of form continued. His team offered a little fight, true, but precious little quality as they endured a seventh Premier League game without a win while Everton ascended into second.

Yerry Mina’s header on the stroke of half-time delivered a merited win for Carlo Ancelotti’s side after Pépé’s penalty had cancelled out Rob Holding’s unfortunate own goal. The gulf in confidence between the teams was visible, and understandable, and despite an improved second-half display Arsenal lacked the guile and composure to rescue a point.

Arteta, already without the suspended Gabriel Magalhães, suffered another setback before kick-off when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was ruled out with a tight calf. David Luiz replaced the Brazilian in a three-man Arsenal defence who came under immediate pressure from an Everton side displaying more confidence, intent and aggression.

It was only after falling behind that the visitors awoke from an anaemic start. There may have been more defensive responsibility on Abdoulaye Doucouré in the absence of the hamstrung Allan but that did not deter the Everton midfielder from driving his team forward in another highly impressive display.

Chances were at a premium in a quiet opening, however, prompting Michael Keane to go it alone and shoot from over 25 yards as the Arsenal defence backed off. His effort swerved inches wide of Bernd Leno’s right-hand post.

Given Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s aerial prowess and the space behind the Arsenal wing-backs, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Bukayo Saka, quality deliveries into the area always appeared a fruitful option for Everton.

They took a while to find their range but found themselves deservedly ahead when the former Arsenal winger Alex Iwobi collected a cross-field ball from Tom Davies and centred for Calvert-Lewin. The England international connected with a glancing header that struck the unwitting Holding before creeping inside the far post.

Arsenal were belatedly jolted into action. Kieran Tierney created an excellent chance for Eddie Nketiah to equalise when he hooked the ball back from the byline for the unmarked striker. Nketiah badly miscued with a sliced finish that sailed yards wide.

The visitors were then gifted a leveller from the penalty spot when Davies, starting in place of the injured Allan and André Gomes, inadvertently felled Maitland-Niles when attempting to clear Mina’s diving header.

The Arsenal winger made the most of the contact but Davies’s reaction said it all when he swung at the clearance only to connect with Maitland-Niles’s thigh instead. Pépé, after a long, stuttering run-up, sent Jordan Pickford the wrong way from the spot.

The visitors were unable to enjoy their gift for long. On the stroke of half-time Calvert-Lewin started and finished a flowing Everton move with a neat chest and a measured pass to Iwobi on the right. He released the overlapping Mason Holgate, who returned the ball inside for Calvert-Lewin to cut across Mohamed Elneny and drive left-footed towards the top corner.

Leno intervened with a superb fingertip save only to be beaten seconds later from the resulting corner. Mina lost Pépé far too easily as Gylfi Sigurdsson shaped to cross and, having darted to the front post without his marker for company, beat Leno with a powerful header.

To their credit Arsenal were unrecognisable after the restart, dominating the first 15 minutes with an urgency that was sorely lacking in the first half and carrying a genuine threat. The left-wing combination of Tierney and Willian was largely responsible and it was from the latter’s cross that Arsenal almost equalised for a second time. Pickford spilled the cross under pressure straight to David Luiz, whose shot bounced off the ground and on to the post with the Everton goalkeeper stranded.

Penalty aside, Pépé was a peripheral figure thanks in no small part to another assured display from Ben Godfrey, who is making light work of having to deputise at left-back despite being a right-footed central defender. A barnstorming run from the former Norwich captain almost created a third goal for Calvert-Lewin as Everton regained the initiative after the David Luiz let-off. Richarlison, breezing away from Maitland-Niles, then teed up Iwobi but Tierney intervened with a vital clearance before the winger could convert. Keane was also close to connecting with a Sigurdsson free-kick into the area having peeled away from the Arsenal defence.