Arsenal had a great chance to widen the gap on top of the league, but couldn’t hold their lead against a plucky Everton.
The first half saw Everton dominate possession, but create few chances. Arsenal were content to counterpunch and they looked quite dangerous but never created any meaningful chances.
It was in the last five minutes of the first half that Arsenal turned up the heat, creating several half chances after some intricate passing. However, Tim Howard kept alert and managed to smother these moves.
The second half was largely Arsenal’s, creating pressure and dominating possession, but not finding the finishing touch. That changed late in the game when Walcott headed across the goal to a waiting Mesut Ozil, who pounced and gave Arsenal the lead.
That woke Everton up and they instantly went in search of an equalizer. That their equalizer was initially setup by an offside Lukaku will hurt more. Deulofeu unleashed a thunderbolt, which seemed to pass right through Szczesny.
The last few minutes saw a frenzy of opportunities as both teams sought a winner. Lukaku sent a good chance over the crossbar and Giroud sent a screamer against the crossbar.
Player Ratings:
Szczesny 6. Not terribly busy for most of the game. Looked a little vulnerable when he came off the line to cut out a corner and he never dealt with it. Was lucky that Distin headed over the bar from the resulting cross. Didn’t really have a chance on the goal.
Jenkinson 6. Supported the attack and played decent defence for the most part, although a couple of times Everton were able to cross the ball.
Mertesacker 7. Solid game from Per who did a good job keeping Everton from penetrating the defence.
Koscielny 8. Excellent game from Laurent who kept Lukaku quiet most of the game. Made several raids forward.
Gibbs 6. Generally looked dangerous when coming forward. Whipped in one particularly good cross for Giroud. Could have closed Deulofeu down more on the equalizer.
Arteta 6. Tidy game for the most part, but had trouble with Barkley and he looked slow a number of times. Not his best outing.
Ramsey 7. A few giveaways and the recipient of several physical challenges highlighted Ramsey’s game. Not as effective as usual, but still managed a half volley that Howard had to save.
Wilshere 7. Jack had a good game, but he too received a number of physical challenges from the Everton midfield. Had a chance in the first half to score, but Howard managed to smother it.
Cazorla 7. Santi is getting better and better and was unlucky not to score on a header in the second half.
Ozil 8. Man of the match. The scorer of the goal and for much of the game he appeared likely to carve Everton open. He also was on the end of some physical Everton tackling.
Giroud 7. A stunning strike almost won the game at the end. He had a number of near misses or chances that were charged down. He was fouled just prior to Ozil scoring.
Substitutes:
Flamini 7. Helped to physically lift a tiring Gunner squad, but will be unhappy that Everton scored while he was on the pitch.
Walcott 8. A good outing for Theo. He assisted on Ozil’s goal and he made a number of good touches while out there.
Rosicky 7. Was involved in the buildup for Ozil’s goal. Whenever he comes in he fits in right away.