Arsenal make the most of Manchester City's slip-up thanks to two defenders
Arsenal capitalised on Manchester City's Premier League defeat on Saturday afternoon. Mikel Arteta's side beat Everton 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium thanks to goals from Ezri Konsa and Gabriel Magalhães. That puts the Gunners on 21 points, level with Manchester City, who lost 2-1 to Aston Villa earlier in the day.
After the 2-2 draw against Bayern Munich, Arteta made five changes. Viktor Gyökeres, Ben White, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Mikel Merino and Eberechi Eze came into the starting line-up, while Jurriën Timber remained on the bench. Everton were without Jack Grealish through illness and former PSV player Jarrad Branthwaite because of a concussion.
Arsenal started strongly at a rain-soaked Emirates Stadium and went ahead after seven minutes. Martin Ødegaard swung a corner into the box and Gabriel headed the ball down. It struck the crossbar and dropped to Konsa, who reacted sharply to turn in the rebound at the far post for his first Arsenal goal.
Despite the setback, Everton kept looking to attack. James Garner tested David Raya with a shot from distance, while Tyrique George's effort deflected off White and went narrowly wide. Their best chance came from a Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall corner. Raya dealt with it awkwardly before Gabriel cleared off the line.
With Arsenal pressing for a second, Noni Madueke looked particularly dangerous. The forward shot wide after good work from Declan Rice, then sent another effort narrowly past the goal. Jordan Pickford kept out a Rice free-kick, while Merino headed over shortly before half-time.
Arsenal remained the stronger side after the break, though they had to wait for another goal. Gabriel caused concern after 56 minutes when his foot caught in the turf during a defensive action and he fell to the ground injured. The Brazilian received medical attention but was eventually able to continue.
Midway through the second half, Arteta brought on Riccardo Calafiori, Bruno Guimarães and Kai Havertz. Arsenal doubled their lead shortly afterwards. White surged down the flank and delivered an excellent cross to the far post, where Gabriel headed in emphatically for his 21st Premier League goal.
Everton brought on Tyler Dibling and Hayden Hackney in an attempt to respond, but Arsenal stayed in control. Gabriel made an excellent tackle on Thierno Barry after Dibling had set him up. The 2-0 win puts Arsenal level with Manchester City after their rivals' defeat at Aston Villa.
