ARSENAL clinched a 1-0 win over Everton thanks to a second half strike from super-sub Leandro Trossard.
The Gunners hadn’t won a game at Goodison Park since Arsene Wenger was manager, but that six-year run of poor results has finally come to an end.
Mikel Arteta’s side completely dominated the clash from start to finish, but struggled to break down the Everton defence.
Gabriel Martinelli thought he’d broken the deadlock within the opening 20 minutes, only for the goal to be disallowed due to an offside in the build-up.
Arsenal continued to push and deservedly got the winner in the second half courtesy of a fantastic Trossard strike.
Here’s how SunSport’s Emillia Hawkins rated the performances…
Read More on Arsenal
David Raya – 7
An impressive performance for the Gunners on his Arsenal debut, Raya looked calm and composed when dealing with the ball.
He wasn’t called upon much during the game, but his distribution was excellent whenever playing out from the back.
Ben White – 7
It could be argued that White is one of Arsenal’s most underrated stars, quietly putting on consistent performances week in, week out.
Today was no different. White was excellent both in defence and when playing forward, linking up well with Saka on the right and providing a slight headache for Everton.
Most read in Football
William Saliba – 7
The defender didn’t have too much to do throughout the game, with Arsenal holding most of the possession.
But whenever he was called upon he did well to help maintain the Gunners’ second clean sheet of the season.
Gabriel Magalhaes – 7
Similar to Saliba, Gabriel did well when called upon throughout the game and put a stop to some potentially dangerous attacks.
Oleksandr Zinchenko – 7
Perhaps wasn’t his best performance, Zinchenko gave the ball away on a number of occasions both in midfield and defence with some sloppy passes during the first half.
Arguably his best moment came when he sent an inch-perfect ball over to Vieira in the box, but the midfielder squared it across goal rather than attempting the shot.
He still had the ability to provide some moments of magic during the game.
Declan Rice – 7
Arsenal’s £105million man continued to shine in midfield, making some crucial tackles and blocks to break down play.
Fabio Vieira – 8
Another excellent performance from the midfielder on his first start of the season.
Vieira was incredibly composed throughout the game and a huge threat with some of his progressive runs and through balls.
Arsenal fans were chanting his name during the second half.
Martin Odegaard – 7
He came agonisingly close to scoring in the first half but was denied by an excellent save from Jordan Pickford.
He put together some great passes while playing forward, but lost the ball on some occasions during the first half.
Bukayo Saka – 7
It was another tough day for the winger, facing Vitaliy Mykolenko on the right.
Saka found himself on the end of some strong challenges, but made some good runs and provided some creative passes.
He assisted Trossard’s second-half strike with a composed first-time pass.
Eddie Nketiah – 6
Showed a good work rate throughout the game and did well to win the ball in midfield during the build-up to the first-half offside goal.
He just struggled to create many chances for himself in the box.
Gabriel Martinelli – 6
The Brazilian thought he gave the Gunners the lead in the 20th minute after slotting the ball past Pickford, but the goal was disallowed for an offside in the build-up.
His game was unfortunately cut short when he was forced off in the 25th minute.
Substitutes
Leandro Trossard (for Martinelli, 25) – 8
Trossard was one of the most creative players on the pitch, completely splitting the Everton defence with some powerful runs and clever passes.
His impressive performance was rewarded with a fantastic goal in the 69th minute.
Gabriel Jesus (for Nketiah, 66) – 6
The striker managed to find a few chances after coming on, but some crucial challenges from James Tarkowski and Myolenko shut down several glimpses at goal.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Kai Havertz (for Vieira, 80) – 6
He didn’t make too much of an impact after coming on for Vieira, but put a few crosses into the box late in the game.
Takehiro Tomiyasu (for Zinchenko, 80) – 6
He did well to help keep any goalscoring threats at bay when Everton pushed for a late equaliser.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
