By George Overhill

17th Sep, 2023 | 6:22pm

Abdoulaye Doucoure and Jarrad Branthwaite star as Amadou Onana flops - Everton player ratings vs Arsenal

Everton frustrated Arsenal for long periods on Merseyside but ultimately succumbed to another disappointing 1-0 defeat.

After early pressure Gabriel Martinelli had the ball in the net after 19 minutes but the goal was ruled out for offside by VAR and the Toffees held firm up to the break.

The Gunners controlled the lion’s share of possession as Everton struggled to mount much of a threat in attack and Leandro Trossard broke the resistance in the 69th minute, condemning the home side to a third defeat from three at Goodison Park this season.

Here, Goodison News rates the Everton players out of 10 for their performances at Goodison Park.

Jordan Pickford – 7

Another solid showing after his late heroics against Sheffield United. Confident on the ball early in the face of a lot of pressure until he almost played Tarkowski into trouble. Made a number of strong saves and little he could do about the goal.

Vitalii Mykolenko – 7

Pretty good on his return to action after Sean Dyche had preferred Ashley Young repeatedly and got an important back heel away at his own back post when Pickford had been beaten in the second half. Largely kept Bukayo Saka quiet until the England star assisted Trossard. Vital late block to deny Fabio Vieira.

James Tarkowski – 6

Not one of his best days as an Everton player as he arguably looked shakier than his junior centre-back partner and was left chasing visiting attackers too often. Did make important interventions to keep Eddie Nketiah from finishing moves a couple of times as he improved after the break, and was at least putting himself about at the other end late on.

Jarrad Branthwaite – 7

The pick of the defenders after a very encouraging display from the 21-year-old in the face of sustained pressure. Started well but almost sold his keeper short with a back pass. Broke up various Arsenal attacks with blocks and interceptions and was commanding in the air. Seems a certain starter now.

Ashley Young (off for Patterson ’87) – 4

Not a great day out for the veteran as Oleksandr Zinchenko was able to play balls in behind him too often with relative ease and was generally not tight to his man at any point. May be struggling to keep his place on current form. Also booked.

Idrissa Gana Gueye – 5

Not especially impactful after a few early challenges as he was increasingly bypassed through the midfield. Blasted a rare attacking chance way off target.

Amadou Onana – 3

Way too slack in a big game. Lethargic overall display and would have been heavily responsible if Martinelli’s first-half strike was allowed to stand as he stopped and allowed play to bypass him while he appealed for offside. Made a couple of big tackles later on but generally well below his best.

Dwight McNeil (off for Chermiti ’88) – 5

Started okay but as the game went on he became more and more peripheral as Everton struggled to hold on to possession.

Abdoulaye Doucouré (off for Garner ’80) – 8 Man of the Match

Everton’s best player in the first half as repeatedly dispossessed Arsenal men, drove forward and had an appeal for a penalty waved away. Still giving everything as the game wore on and got a foot in defensively at the crucial moment to deny Vieira inside the hour. If everyone in the Everton side showed the same industry and purpose this team would be far better. Ran himself into the ground but felt like the last chance to get anything was gone when he went off.

Arnaut Danjuma – 5

Didn’t do a huge amount of anything for most of the game. Run up and down the right flank but looked increasingly laboured while getting few touches of the ball.

Beto (off for Calvert-Lewin ’66) – 6

Energetic in the lone role up top and had a couple of threatening forays forward, but perhaps unsurprisingly was short of service for most of the match.

Substitutions

Dominic Calvert-Lewin (on for Beto ’66) – 5

Returned to action with a mask on thanks to his facial fracture but saw even less of the ball than Beto and couldn’t do much of anything without it. One late attempt under pressure went wide.

James Garner (on for Doucouré ’80) – 5

Little time to have much impact at all and caught in possession on the one occasion he had any possession.

Nathan Patterson (on for Young ’87) – N/A

Youssef Chermiti (on for McNeil ’88) – N/A

In other Everton news, a journalist has warned fans to “beware misleading headlines” as 777 takeover developments emerge.