The euphoria of sealing their qualification into the Round of 16 of the Europa League did not last long for Everton as they succumbed to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Arsenal over the weekend.
While not for the lack of trying, Everton did not have enough quality about them to claim anything from the clash and at the end – the Toffees could not complain regarding the outcome of the clash.
As for positives from the game against Arsenal, Everton did put up a good show of defiance for long periods of the match and if they can marry the same spirit with a bit of quality up front during the upcoming matches, the Toffees should be able to steer clear of relegation.
Here is an analysis of the performance of the Everton players on the day –
| Player Rating | Comment |
Tim Howard – 5.5 |
Tim Howard looked a lot more confident than he did last week against Leicester. The veteran American goalkeeper made a couple of decent saves in the first half and could not do anything about the two goals that he did concede. |
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Seamus Coleman – 5.5
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Coleman was solid defensively and did not allow Mesut Ozil too much happiness down the wings.
However, the Irishman was not afforded too many opportunities to venture forward and it was probably understandable due to the Toffees’ defensive setup. |
Phil Jagielka – 4.5 |
It was a very difficult afternoon for Phil Jagielka as nothing seemed to go his way. The defender looked slow off the mark and was fortunate on a couple of occasions to get away with a decision when exposed. However, the England’s international’s luck did run out at the end as he inadvertently deflected Tomas Rosicky’s shot into his own net. |
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John Stones – 5
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Stones was slightly better than Jagielka on the day but he could and should have done better in preventing Olivier Giroud’s opener.
Apart from the error, Stones did not do much wrong but the young man needs to keep his concentration levels high throughout the match if he wants to become a top class defender. |
Luke Garbutt – 6 |
It is difficult for even established defenders to perform against Arsenal and therefore, young Luke Garbutt must be praised for his display against the Gunners on Sunday. Garbutt showed maturity beyond his young age and negated the threat posed by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain very well. The young man also was in charge of set piece duties and his quality service made him look like he is Leighton Baines in the making. |
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Muhamed Besic – 4.5
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Besic surprisingly kept his place in the starting lineup despite the return of Gareth Barry but he failed to justify his selection.
The Bosnian midfielder looked out of sorts throughout the game and struggled until he was hauled off for Steven Naismith in the second period. |
Gareth Barry – 5 |
Although very calm and collected on the ball, Gareth Barry endured a couple of uncharacteristic concentration lapses during the clash. The midfielder also gave the ball away cheaply too many times in the second period and it was most certainly not one of his best performances. |
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James McCarthy – 6 |
McCarthy was solid on the day and tried his best to turn the tide into Everton’s favour.
However, the Irishman could not provide the spark from the middle of the park and lacked quality in the final third. |
Ross Barkley – 5.5 |
On the back of a couple of poor performances, one could see that Ross Barkley was desperate to make a difference on the night. However much like the rest of his fellow attackers, Barkley could not produce the cutting edge and was frustrated once too often. |
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Kevin Mirallas – 5
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Given the fact that he was up against young Hector Bellerin, Kevin Mirallas was expected to cause a bit of problems down the wing.
However, the Belgian star was largely ineffectual throughout against the inexperienced defender and rightly hauled off during the hour mark. |
Romelu Lukaku – 6 |
Lukaku was the liveliest of the Everton attackers and his tireless running did put the Arsenal backline under immense pressure throughout the match. However, the striker was not able to convert the chances that he did receive and it turned out to be a frustrating afternoon for the young Belgian. |
Substitutes
Aaron Lennon – 6 |
Lennon was brought on in the second period and did manage to trouble the Arsenal backline with his direct running. |
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Darron Gibson – NA |
A very late sub and he did not have enough time to make an impact. |
Steven Naismith – 6 |
The Scotsman was brought on during the final 15 minutes of the clash as Everton were chasing the game. |
