Saturday, 23 August 2014
Everton v Arsenal Preview
Arsenal take on Everton at Goodison Park this afternoon at 5.30 in the second weekend of Premier League fixtures.
Last season the two sides were embroiled in an intriguing race for fourth place which ultimately saw Arsenal take the final Champions League spot.
Everton had a fantastic season by all accounts and worryingly put in an outstanding performance against the Gunners in this same fixture last year cruising to a 3-0 victory.
However at the Emirates Arsenal were unlucky not to win 1-0 and would have done so were it not for a late equaliser from Barcelona loanee Gerard Deulofeu who produced a sublime finish from 10 yards.
The two sides also faced each in the FA Cup quarter final. The match was played at the Emirates and Arsenal won comfortably by a margin of 4-1. The first half was relatively cagey however once Arsenal scored their second the floodgates opened and the match ended in emphatic style with a brace of goals from Olivier Giroud.
The Arsenal team for today is likely to be as follows:
Arsenal: Szczesny, Monreal, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Debuchy, Arteta, Ramsey, Ozil, Sanchez, Wilshere and Giroud
Arsenal's performance last week against Crystal Palace will give the Gunners plenty of confidence as they were able to win ugly. Their slick passing game was by no means at its best, however second half substitutions to bring on Oxlade-Chamberlain and Giroud proved crucial in keeping the pressure on Palace allowing Ramsey to score a late winner.
Although Aaron Ramsey is ineligible for Arsenals Champions League second round tie with Besiktas he is expected to start today and Arsenal will need the Welsh Jesus firing on all cylinders to beat a strong Toffees side.
Everton had a less inspiring start to their 2014/15 Premier League campaign, drawing 2-2 against Leicester. The Toffees lead for most of the second half until an 86th minute equaliser from Leicester's Chris Wood.
Everton twice held the lead but were unable to see the game out against a plucky Leicester side which bodes well for an Arsenal who have plenty of attacking options.
The Gunner's prospects will also be boosted by the return of their German World Cup winners per Mertesacker, Mesut Ozil and Lukasz Podolski who could all feature in today's match.
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