Everton v Arsenal as it happened | Scott Murray

Arsenal were outplayed for 83 minutes before coming back at Everton and nearly nicking an astonishing win.

7.25pm BST

And thats that! This draw will feel like a victory to Arsenal, and a defeat to Everton. The home side were so much better than the visitors for 83 minutes. But Arsenal refused to give up, and could easily have won the game at the end. A brilliant show of determination by Arsenal, though Everton will take many positives from their performance too, when the sting of conceding a second late equaliser in two weeks dies down. The first heavyweight showdown of the season wasnt too bad, huh?

7.23pm BST

90 min +3: The Arsenal fans are pointing out the changes to the scoreline via the mediums of song and swearing.

7.21pm BST

90 min +2: Giroud is not too far away from planting the nut on a cross from the right wing. It sails out to the left of Howards goal. Everton have fallen apart. Theyre clinging on for the draw now!

7.20pm BST

90 min +1: There will be four added minutes. Cazorla attempts to float a chip over Howard from a tight position on the left. The keeper snaffles.

7.19pm BST

Monreal chases a lost cause down the left. He picks up the ball by the left-hand corner flag, and whips a cross to the near post, where Giroud ghosts in between Jagielka and Distin, and plants a wonderful header into the left-hand side of the net, Howard rooted to the spot! Goodison falls silent in disbelief. What resilience by Arsenal!

7.18pm BST

89 min: Everton have a chance to fling a free kick into the Arsenal box from a favourable position 30 yards out down the left. But they opt to tiki-taka down the clock. They lose the ball after 0.000001 seconds. Not a great idea, because...

7.17pm BST

87 min: How many times do they do that? It is fucking unbelievable! Arsene Wenger, there, arms thrown out wide, complaining at some Everton timewasting.

7.14pm BST

85 min: Mirallas is replaced by Atsu. Arsenal come at Everton again, hope renewed. A corners won down the right, and Giroud wins a header, level with the right-hand post, ten yards out. His effort sails wide left of goal, but Ramsey wasnt far away from guiding that home. Everton had looked so comfortable, Arsenal so impotent. And now look!

7.13pm BST

Now this is something! Cazorla drops a shoulder and makes a yard of space for himself down the left. He whips a low cross into the six-yard box. Ramsey, coming in from the right, slaps the ball home from a couple of yards out. This is back on for Arsenal! Itd be some escape!

7.11pm BST

82 min: Ozil standing around on the left a lot. Eventually Monreal tries to up the tempo by making off with the ball and whipping a cross straight through the area. Not ideal, but its something.

7.09pm BST

80 min: Ramsey, cutting in from the left, shanks an appalling shot miles right of goal. He wears the expression of a man who knows this isnt a good day at the office.

7.07pm BST

79 min: Everton look the more likely to score now. Coleman is an inch away from latching onto McGeadys pass down the inside-right channel and breaking into the box, but Mertesacker intercepts with a wonderful last-ditch sliding tackle. The corner comes to naught.

7.06pm BST

77 min: McGeady is in the thick of it immediately, racing down the right and pulling a ball back to the right-hand corner of the D for Naismith, who shoots crazily over the bar for three rugby points. Soon after the restart, Flamini is in the book for a late slide on McGeady.

7.04pm BST

76 min: And now Lukaku is replaced by McGeady.

7.03pm BST

74 min: A final roll of the dice by Arsene Wenger. Campbell and Cazorla come on for Oxlade-Chamberlain and Wilshere.

7.03pm BST

73 min: Coleman in space down the right. His cross to the far post is an inch away from finding the head of the inrushing Baines. Mertesacker eyebrows away in the nick of time.

7.01pm BST

70 min: Baines embarks on a determined run down the left. He reaches the byline, not too far from the goal, but the cutback is behind his attackers and the move breaks down.

6.59pm BST

69 min: Arsenal break upfield, and after a little pinball on the edge of the Everton area, the ball falls to Giroud. The striker hits low and hard towards the goal, but Howard smothers. This is better from Arsenal (if you ignore the three-on-two chance they gave up 60 seconds ago).

6.57pm BST

68 min: Mertesacker slips and allows Lukaku to tear off down the right wing. He cuts inside and has options ahead, either side, Mirallas and Naismith. But he hesitates, considers shooting, then attempts a ludicrous backheel back to the right wing to release Naismith. Nope!

6.56pm BST

67 min: Finally a little end product from Arsenal. The balls nudged in from the right wing, allowing Giroud to spin on the right-hand edge of the D and lash a low shot millimetres wide of the right-hand post. Not sure Howard was getting a hand to that, were it on target. Perhaps.

6.54pm BST

65 min: Arsenal are pinning Everton back a little here. But theyre not doing very much with all the territory. Everton look comfortable enough in defence as the visitors attempt to triangulate their way through a thick blue wall. I guess its too premature to call all that Arsenal title talk too premature, opines Niall Mullen. Still its hard to see how they can do it with that back 5. If you took Evertons back 5 and Arsenals front 6 youd have a hell of a team.

6.52pm BST

62 min: Ramsey and Oxlade-Chamberlain shuttle the ball to the right for Debuchy, who has opportunity to cross, hesitates, and settles for a corner off Barry. The resulting set piece is a homage to early Hollywood, a mishit corner, then a fresh-air swipe in lieu of a defensive clearance. The ball sails straight through the area and away from danger.

6.49pm BST

59 min: Arsenal are second best right now. And Everton are first to nearly everything. Naismith - who has been nothing short of brilliant this evening - so nearly robs a dawdling Monreal down the Everton right. A luckier bounce of the ball in a block challenge, and hed have been haring off towards the Arsenal area.

6.47pm BST

56 min: Chambers has been a booking waiting to happen, and finally hes shown a yellow card. Its a common-or-garden clip on Naismith, but the totting-up procedure will have cost him there. To be fair to the young man, he doesnt complain, perhaps expecting the inevitability of his punishment. I wonder if this season might prove a steep learning curve for this very promising young player?

6.45pm BST

55 min: Everton take the sting out of the game by passing it around the back for a while. Everton sides of old might have opted to ratchet up the heat after that challenge, but this is a clever team, with a street-smart manager. Arsenal cant get the ball right now, and they dont look particularly happy. Everton are in total control.

6.43pm BST

53 min: Brouhaha! Wilshere comes clattering into Barry. Hes late, and its clumsy. Its a lunge, but not a two-footed one, and hes only caught Barrys hanging boot. A yellow card seems about right, though for a second, with most of the players congregating for a high-octane chat, anything was possible.

6.41pm BST

52 min: Osman twists down the left and into the area. His dinked cross hits the arm of Ramsey, and theres a penalty appeal. But in fairness to Ramsey, the pair are ludicrously close together, and he also appears to be withdrawing his arm, rather than wafting it in the general direction of the ball. No penalty, which seems fair.

6.40pm BST

50 min: Giroud comes through the back of Baines. Its probably fair to say that Arsene Wenger has given his side a rocket; theyre contesting every ball as though their lives depend on it. Theyre in danger of losing the head right now, but too much commitment is probably preferable to not enough.

6.37pm BST

47 min: Naismith and Debuchy go up for a high ball. The former plants his knee in the back of the latter. Then the prone Debuchy plays David Beckham to Naismiths Diego Simeone. The referee sees the kick out, but opts to ignore it. Grown men Im describing here.

6.36pm BST

45 min 57 seconds: Giroud should have halved the deficit within a minute of his introduction! Oxlade-Chamberlain has the ball at his feet 30 yards out. He scoops a delightful pass down the inside-left for the French striker, who is facing the goal, on the left-hand corner of the six-yard box, with a ball dropping perfectly in front of him. He volleys wildly over the bar. What a start to the half that would have been!

6.34pm BST

Were off again! And Arsenal are off without Alexis Sanchez, who has been hooked in favour of Olivier Giroud. Heres Charles Antaki: The fullness and frankness of Wengers exchange with the fourth official would have included a) a contrite admission that his team have been rubbish; b) that the experiment of having Sánchez playing up front has failed dismally; and c) that were he able to make 11 substitutions he would be very tempted to do so. What part in the exchange the fourth official would play is unclear, besides nodding sagely.

6.18pm BST

Besiktas
Everton will have enjoyed that. Arsene Wenger storms off down the tunnel, having previously entered into a full and frank exchange of views with the fourth official.

6.17pm BST

Arsenal dont get to the interval in one piece. Lukaku rolls Mertesacker down the right wing, powerful brilliance. He then skips over Monreals sliding challenge, and bombs into space. He drifts inside, then just as he appears to be cocking his leg to shoot, dinks a little ball down the inside-right channel to release Naismith into the area. Naismith hammers a low first-time shot into the right-hand corner. What a lovely move ... although Arsenal claim Mertesacker was clipped, and Naismith was half a yard offside. The latter complaint appears more valid.

6.14pm BST

43 min: Mertesacker is booked for an agricultural lunge on Naismith. The visitors will be desperate to hear the half-time whistle.

6.13pm BST

41 min: Lukaku, striding down the inside-right channel, shapes to shoot but opts to release Naismith down the wing instead. Too much weight on the pass; goal kick. From the restart, Naismith nearly charges down a Szczesny kick upfield. Then Arsenal give the ball away in the middle of the park, allowing Mirallas to dance down the left. His low cross is behind Lukaku, who cant retrieve the situation. A more accurate cross, and that would have been a second for Everton. Arsenal are a shambles.

6.09pm BST

38 min: Arsenal are second best to everything right now. Its been a poor show since they fell behind. Only Oxlade-Chamberlain is coming out of this with any credit. He powers forward on a dribble, then charges down a poor Coleman clearance. No reward for all that hard work, though, as the ball clatters off his shins and out for a goal kick. But hes been very impressive this evening.

6.07pm BST

36 min: Ramsey concedes possession needlessly in the centre circle. Mirallas tries to beat Szczesny from the halfway line. The keeper was off his line, so fair enough. The effort flies harmlessly wide right of goal, and the keeper was scampering back to deal with any danger anyway.

6.06pm BST

35 min: Mirallas takes the resulting free kick himself, and is inches away from whipcracking a stunning set piece into the top left. Szczesny wasnt getting to that. Half the ground think the balls gone in, but thats the side netting.

6.05pm BST

34 min: Everton stroke it around the back for a bit. Its entertainment for the crowd, and very frustrating for Arsenal, who cant get a touch. Eventually the balls zipped down the left wing for Mirallas, who on the left-hand edge of the Arsenal box is rugby-tackled by Chambers. That should be a booking, but the referee shows leniency to a young player.

6.02pm BST

31 min: A poor clearing header from Jagielka is latched onto by Oxlade-Chamberlain, Arsenals best player so far. Oxlade-Chamberlain has another first-time shot from the edge of the box, once again looking to thread one into the bottom left. Hes not caught it properly, though, and the ball flies well wide left. Slightly better from Arsenal, though; theyve been poor since the goal.

6.01pm BST

29 min: Baines comes clattering into Debuchy. Hes booked, much to the displeasure of the Goodison faithful. But he can have no complaints, that was as late as challenges come. If there was a few joules more energy in that mistimed tackle, we could have been in red-card territory. As it was, yellow will do.

5.58pm BST

27 min: Baines hugs the left-hand touchline. He whips a low pass up the wing for Osman, who was a whisker away from nudging the ball infield to release Mirallas into the area. Hed have been one-on-one with Szczesny. Arsenal are leaving all sorts of gaps at the back.

5.56pm BST

25 min: Its end to end right now, with Baines sticking a cross down Szczesnys throat from the Everton left, then Ramsey nearly tin-opening a chance up the other end by twisting and turning on the edge of the home box. The Wales international cant quite get his shot away.

5.54pm BST

22 min: This should be 2-0. A simple ball down the middle by Everton. Naismith eyebrows it on for Mirallas, who is clear on goal! Chambers is right behind him. Mirallas chests the ball down with his nipple, leans back, and wafts a weak effort to the right of goal. On target was the bare minimum there. On the touchline, Roberto Martinez claims Chambers clipped Mirallas, who went down as he shot. Its really not very clear after a couple of replays, so the referee should be cut some slack if hes missed that one. For what its worth, to the naked eye it looked like Mirallas simply lost his balance while ballsing up the shot.

5.51pm BST

The free kicks shuttled out to the left wing, then inside to Barry, to the left of the Arsenal D. Barry lifts a diagonal ball over the Arsenal back line. The cross evades Lukaku, but Colemans bombing in from the right, and the full back heads powerfully into the top-right corner, giving Szczesny no chance whatsoever! Arsenal do the George Graham thing, claiming offside, but Ozil was playing both Lukaku and Coleman on. Brilliant goal!

5.49pm BST

18 min: Sanchez puts his shoulder into a 50-50 challenge with McCarthy, flipping the Everton midfielder into the air like an old sock. Everton arent very happy with that challenge, but a free kicks all theyre getting, just in front of the centre circle. Never mind, because ...

5.47pm BST

15 min: Coleman, clearing up to the right of his own goal, should put his foot through the ball. Instead, he attempts to thread a pass through the area. Its inevitably intercepted by Oxlade-Chamberlain, who sends a first-time shot whistling inches wide left.

5.45pm BST

13 min: Lukaku overpowers Monreal down the right and romps forward. His low forward pass towards Naismith is intercepted well by Mertesacker. Arsenal flood upfield, where Ramsey, his back to goal on the left-hand edge of the Everton area, tries to spring the offside trap with a backheeled volley. Theres confidence.

5.42pm BST

11 min: Oxlade-Chamberlain is looking lively, as he so often does. He scampers down the inside-right channel, taking advantage of a little space Everton have left him, and decides to shoot from 30 yards. Its optimistic, and always heading over, but it was a decent enough effort and not a million miles away from the top-right corner. After a slow and slightly sloppy start, Arsenal are in charge of this game right now.

5.40pm BST

10 min: Nope. Pienaar ambles off down the tunnel looking pained, the Everton physio throwing a sympathetic arm around his shoulder. Osman comes on in the South African internationals stead.

5.39pm BST

8 min: Pienaar is down again, perhaps still suffering from that early knee in the back, opines Dr Murray, the Guardian quack who has no idea. It doesnt look like hes going to continue.

5.37pm BST

6 min: Arsenal finally get their foot on it. And they nearly open Everton up wonderfully. Debuchy sprays a low pass up the right wing to release Oxlade-Chamberlain, who whips a cross into the centre just before the ball goes out of play for a goal kick. Sanchez is lurking in the middle, but Barry is tracking back well, spotting the danger and intercepting on the right-hand corner of his own six-yard box. Lovely play all round.

5.35pm BST

4 min: A brisk, sunny evening on Merseyside. Arsenal yet to wake up. Theyve hardly touched the ball! Everton are only fannying around in the middle of the park, its true, but even so. A very lop-sided start to this game.

5.33pm BST

2 min: The corner comes to naught. Szczesny lumps his goal kick straight out of play. Arsenal should be turning up soon.

5.32pm BST

And were off! Everton get the ball rolling, and theyre kicking towards the Park End in the first half. They knock it around the back awhile. Barry eventually loops a pass forward down the inside-left channel for Pienaar, who is kneed in the back by Chambers as the Arsenal youngster concedes a corner.

5.29pm BST

The teams are out! Everton are in their very distinguished blue shirts with acceptable badge. Some prefer a 1960s-style white collar to the 1930s-influenced darker blue, but no white is better than too much white...

4.40pm BST

Everton: Howard, Coleman, Jagielka, Distin, Baines, McCarthy, Barry, Mirallas, Naismith, Pienaar, Lukaku.
Subs: Robles, McGeady, Besic, Atsu, Osman, Stones, Alcaraz.

Arsenal: Szczesny, Debuchy, Chambers, Mertesacker, Monreal, Flamini, Ramsey, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Wilshere, Ozil, Sanchez.
Subs: Koscielny, Rosicky, Giroud, Cazorla, Martinez, Campbell, Bellerin.

4.30pm BST

The last staging of this fixture, back in April, made fools of us all. Everton obliterated Arsenal at Goodison Park, and the result felt epochal. Roberto Martinezs fresh, exciting side scored three. Arsene Wengers Champions League perennials were lucky to get nil. At one point Evertons right back, Seamus Coleman, ran up the wing juggling the ball for 30 yards. The Gunners 16-year residency of Europes premier competition appeared over. The new wave was crashing through.

It was Evertons biggest win against Arsenal for a quarter of a century, since Pat Nevin scored twice as Colin Harveys side, inspired by Norman Whiteside, battered George Grahams champions 3-0 in October 1989. That result put the Toffees on top of the table, a very good day all in all, seeing Liverpool were busy getting skittled 4-1 at Southampton. However, just as those particular results proved illusionary - Everton finished sixth that season, while their city rivals went on to lift the title - so too did last Aprils victory. Everton, with Champions League football in their grasp, collapsed afterwards, losing three of their final five matches. Arsenal meanwhile regrouped to win all their remaining fixtures, and sauntered towards the Champions League yet again, time to twirl a cane, enough puff left to whistle a jaunty trill.

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