By Sam Stone

2nd Mar, 2023 | 2:40pm

Andy Townsend reacts to Jordan Pickford moment in Everton 4-0 loss v Arsenal

Andy Townsend believes Jordan Pickford “will be disappointed” after the Everton keeper was beaten at his near post during the Toffees’ 4-0 defeat to Arsenal.

After a stubborn defensive performance from the Toffees, Bukayo Saka fired past the England star in the 40th minute to give Mikel Arteta’s side the lead

However, Townsend has suggested Pickford will believe he could’ve done better with the effort from the Arsenal attacker.

“Jordan Pickford, he will be disappointed to be beaten at his near post but it’s rising and hit so hard,” said Townsend (BeIN Sports, 20:09, 1 March).

Unstoppable

The strike was at Pickford’s near post, but it was unstoppable from Saka. The power and the angle of the ball means he had no hope of reacting in time to prevent the ball from nestling in the top of the net. Up until that point, it was a fairly comfortable evening for Sean Dyche’s men.

They restricted their hosts to very little and it did take a moment of magic to break the deadlock. However, the second goal was a killer. The former Burnley boss cannot legislate for players to gift goals away, particularly to the best team in the Premier League.

The second goal in first-half stoppage time was fatal, and all but ended Everton’s hopes of picking up three points. They had to be slightly more expansive in the second half and that exposed them defensively.

The Goodison Park faithful will obviously be disappointed with the last two results, but the focus will now need to turn to Sunday’s fixture at Nottingham Forest. Defeat at the City Ground cannot be on the agenda for Everton.