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Sean Dyche instant impact at Everton highlighted as Sky Sports release stats v Arsenal
The immediate impact Sean Dyche had at Everton for their Premier League win against Arsenal was clear for all to see – and the numbers back it up.
The Toffees ground out a 1-0 win against the league-leaders thanks to a James Tarkowski header, and moved level with Leeds on 18 points and only remain in the relegation zone due to goal difference.
What was more clear for the Goodison Park faithful to see was the increased effort of numerous players and the efforts to press Arsenal’s world-class attack.
Speaking live on Sky Sports on Tuesday morning (7 February), and as shared via Football Daily, Mark McAdam broke down the distances that the Everton starting XI ran against the Gunners, with five of the top seven running distances so far this season coming in Dyche’s first game in charge.
Abdoulaye Doucoure ran a season-best 12.10km, Dwight McNeil a close second at 12.05km, and Amadou Onana, Idrissa Gueye and Alex Iwobi not far behind.
McAdam said: “What you can see there is the effect Sean Dyche is having on these players, saying I want you to work, I want you to run, I want you to give me everything, I want you to press from the front and I want to see more energy from my side.
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“That’s what he got.”
What was more telling was the distance covered by the whole team on Saturday lunchtime compared to the average from the Frank Lampard era. On average this season, the Toffees have run 108.6km, while Dyche’s surpassed that with a total distance of 116.4km against Arsenal.
Although this is only data from one game, you can already see the blueprint that Dyche is looking to stamp on his Everton side in the coming months.
A midfield three of Doucoure, Onana and Gueye was never going to be the most creative and sparkling trio, so he has decided to stick to their strengths and make them hard to beat.
By pressing high, aggressively and limiting the time the likes of Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka had on the ball, Dyche limited the Gunners to just three shots on goal.
If he can continue to get a tune out of his outfield players in terms of running distances, the results should start to slowly turn around for the Merseyside club.