Premier League: Arsenal land Christmas top spot as Man City keep up the pace
Following failing out in three previous seasons, conceding two to Manchester City and one to Liverpool, Arsenal are on another PL title push.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said during his post-match conference on being on the summit of the EPL table: “It gives me belief and confidence: The level of performance and the consistency of that. It is very difficult to do in this league so it means the team is consistently there.”
The Gunners go into the Christmas at the top of the EPL log after registering a victory at the Goodison Park on Saturday night, but Arteta insisted being at the top at the Christmas again fetched him belief and confidence to succeed.
For the third time in last four seasons─and fifth in the history of the league─the Gunners will top the EPL table on 25th December, but they are yet to turn such an advantage into triumph.
The win over Everton at the Goodison park, courtesy of Viktor Gyokeres’ first spotkick, was good enough to reclaim their top position from their title arch rivals, Manchester City, who had played earlier in the day.
“It gives me belief and confidence: the level of performance and the consistency of that,” said Arteta.
“It is very difficult to do in this league so it means the team is consistently there.
“We enjoy the process of winning. We will have to go to difficult places and have difficult moments. We have dealt with a lot of things already and we are there.”
On Gyokeres Taking The Penalty
Mikel Arteta when questioned on the decision to let Viktor Gyokeres take the penalty, he said it was a great decision.
Gyokeres’ first goal in six games was handed to him mainly by Jake O’Brien’s inexplicable handball and then by captain Martin Odegaard choosing him over Bukayo Saka.
Physically, Gyokeres Struggles
Sky Sports pundit and former Tottenham player Jamie Redknapp claims that Arsenal frontman Viktor Gyokeres should not be struggling physically as he is at Arsenal.
Gyokeres netted his fifth Premier League to ensure that the Gunners beat Everton 1-0 to reclaim their top spot, courtesy a penalty but struggling to find the back of the net from open play.
“He [Gyokeres] did okay. He’s finding it hard at the moment. That’s his fifth goal this season. It shouldn’t be the case because he’s played in the English leagues before, but he’s struggling with the physicality considering he’s a big guy struggling with the physicality considering he s a big guy.
“I’ve never seen him win a duel. In terms of his finesse and bringing others into the game, it’s not good enough. He’s finding it tough. He needs a bit of confidence.
“He’s never going to be a Bergkamp. He’s a battering ram that’s going to score goals and make big moments and win you games. He won them the game, but he won it with a penalty.
“You want to see him winning games with really important goals that are going to make the difference.
“At the moment, he’s done okay. I don’t think you can say anything more than that.”
Converting Penalty Right Move For Goal-Shy Gyokeres
Prior to the game against Everton, there was a lot of pre-match talk about Viktor Gyokeres, with the Swedish striker yet to be at the level he was at his former club.
Lots of pressure have been placed on him now that Mikel Arteta has several forward options in Gabriel Jesus, Mikel Merino and kai Havertz.
The most recent tie against Everton where he converted first-half spot kick to hand the Gunners much-needed victory to reclaim their top spot, attracted fewer question marks and served more as a step in right path for him.
The goal was a positive but there were other moments too. A lot has been made about his Arsenal team-mates not spotting his runs – but William Saliba played him through for a good chance in the first half.
During the second-half, Leandro Trossard played him through for a run down the left and managed to skip through to two Everton defenders. It was almost like a ‘battering ram’ striker that had been promised to the Premier League.
His teammates conceded the need to give him a goal and this was depicted in their decision to hand him the penalty duty. It can be likened to the scene in October 2023, when Arsenal’s regular penalty takers gave it up so that kai Havertz could get his first goal for the club.
The German ended up with 13 goals that season as Arsenal went within two points of the title. Gyokeres now has five─but crucially it looks like there’s a better understanding with his team.
We’ve seen penalties given for that ─ Moyes
After 90 minutes, Gyokeres’ penalty decided the game, but the host had a concrete claim for a denied spotkick when William Saliba’s attempted clearance felled Thierno Barry in the second half, but VAR decided that no foul was committed.
When asked, Everton Manager David Moyes was diplomatic in his response: “I’m not sure. I’ve watched it back, I think they said it was insufficient contact,” he said.
“We’ve seen some given if you kick through someone’s foot or Achilles. It’s probably been seen and could have been given, but for the VAR not to send him to the screen they must have felt they it was not enough.”
‘Many Of This Have Been Given As Penalties’
On Everton’s denied penalty, Sky Sports’ Jamie Redknapp said: “We have definitely seen these given. It reminds of Joao Pedro for Brighton also with Saliba involved.
“You can see it, Thierno Barry just gets his right foot to it and he definitely kicks him.
“You can see Jack Grealish’s reaction. He’s apoplectic. Barry definitely gets his foot up and Saliba kicks the back of his heel.
“David Moyes will come out and say that he is disappointed they didn’t get that. We’ve seen some penalty decisions this weekend and there are a lot worse than that have been given.
“We’ve got VAR whether we like it or not. That’s what it is there for, to intervene. They’ve got very fortunate there, Arsenal.”
Moyes was left to regret O’Brien’s mad moment after the Everton defender hung his two arms in the air at a corner.
“Disappointed with the goal we conceded. We gave away a stupid penalty kick,” he added.
“When you think about it we pushed Arsenal close. If they had scored a brilliant goal you could have held your hand up but it wasn’t, it was a poor decision by us.
“Overall I thought we fought incredibly hard to get something out of the game and challenged Arsenal for long periods.
“You couldn’t say the players weren’t committed or determined, they were fantastic in those aspects. Quality-wise you could maybe ask questions.”
