FIFA Days clearly affects big teams a lot. PSG and Bayern Munich lost points in early matches. Liverpool and Man City had victories on Saturday, but they all came from a scenario where they were behind and came back later.
Arsenal broke through at Goodison Park.
That information made many Arsenal fans worried when Mikel Arteta’s army marched north to play at Goodison Park. The past clearly does not favor Arsenal. They lost to Everton in the last 3 times they were guests here. But last night was an exception when Arteta dared to change.
Compared to the most recent starting lineup, Arteta bravely took away Kai Havertz, who did not play up to the requirements after the first 4 rounds. Fabio Vieira, instead, was given credit after playing superbly against Man Utd.
The energy Vieira brings to Arsenal is huge. Although he did not score, the midfielder had an expected goal of up to 0.37 and successfully contested the ball 4/6 times. It’s completely different from the Havertz struggling in front of Man Utd’s penalty area a few weeks ago.
An even more important change that Arteta made against Everton was his determination to push the team up, control the ball and not let the opponent play.
After the match, coach Sean Dyche said helplessly: “We did not deserve to win. We defended fiercely but could not control the ball. The defense worked very hard but on the attack then we were never really close to troubling the goalkeeper and making a difference.”
As Everton captain described, their defenders are always confused when holding the ball. Short pass or strong break upfield? They kicked spontaneously and appeared confused when approached. The Independent described the way Everton defended in the half in a “negative” manner.
Raya impressed with his footwork skills.
Midway through the second half, Dyche wanted to counterattack stronger, so he sent Calvert-Lewin onto the field. However, the moment James Tarkowski pressed Odegaard’s face to score last season has not been recreated. During 90 minutes, Everton only hit the target once and that was a huge tactical success for Arteta.
Finally, Arteta bravely changed to the guard position. Aaron Ramsdale seemed unhappy in the moment captured closely by the television station. Rookie David Raya was used for the first time since arriving at the Gunners. The pressure that Everton creates is not too great, so it is difficult to evaluate Raya’s ability to catch the ball. However, he scored 10 points against Arteta in his ability to play with his feet.
Statistics from Sofascore show that Raya passed 7 out of 9 long passes accurately. Overall, he passed 94% accurately and was never afraid to receive a return pass from his teammates. Ramsdale once said he was not afraid to compete with Raya. But he will have to worry after what happened at Goodison Park.
Ngoa Long | 17:13 September 18, 2023
