Andy Townsend slams Abdoulaye Doucouré after what he did in first half of Everton Premier League clash v Arsenal
Andy Townsend slammed Abdoulaye Doucouré after the Everton midfielder produced a poor pass in the first half of the Toffees’ Premier League clash v Arsenal.
It was a back-against-the-wall first period for Sean Dyche’s side who managed to restrict their hosts to very little in terms of chances before Arsenal’s quickfire double on the stroke of halftime.
However, Townsend was less than impressed with the 30-year-old after he squandered a good opportunity to set Dwight McNeil through on goal.
“That is such a good situation, he has to do better. They had numbers and everything there and Doucoure’s ball out to Dwight McNeil didn’t favour him,” said Townsend (Bein Sports, 19:45, 1 March).
“They lost the chance. Everton should have done an awful lot better and tested Aaron Ramsdale.”
Tough task
Picking up three points at The Emirates has proven to be a thankless task for the majority of the Premier League in the 2022/23 campaign. Mikel Arteta’s side are deservedly top of the pile and rightfully so.
If Everton can pick up a point on Wednesday evening it will be an excellent result. This is somewhat of a free hit. No one expects them to go and pick up three points, with the weekend’s fixture against Nottingham Forest shaping up to be a huge clash.
Steve Cooper’s men are just ahead of the Toffees in the league standings and are by no means out of the relegation conversation. With there being nine teams involved at present, consecutive wins are like gold dust.
The first-half performance at The Emirates will provide plenty of positives, particularly in a defensive sense. The league leaders struggled to get going and that was a testament to Dyche’s side’s setup.
However, Saka and Martinelli’s strikes on the stroke of halftime were an absolute killer and will have infuriated the Everton boss.