By Daniel Lewis

18th Sep, 2023 | 8:10am

Dominic Calvert-Lewin importance to Everton highlighted amid 'painful statistic'

If Everton supporters were not already aware of just how important Dominic Calvert-Lewin is to the side, they certainly were after the 1-0 loss to Arsenal.

The Toffees failed to score for the fourth time in five Premier League games this season as they fell to a Leandro Trossard strike at Goodison Park on Sunday [17 September].

Summer signing Beto was given the nod up top, despite Calvert-Lewin’s return from a facial injury, but he did not register a single shot in his 65 minutes on the field – on target or otherwise.

Calvert-Lewin was brought on for the Portuguese striker and took less than a minute to get an attempt away, albeit failing to trouble debutant David Raya in the Arsenal goal.

As pointed out by David Maddock in The Mirror‘s print edition on Monday [18 September, pg 47], it is “a painful statistic” that lays bare Everton’s biggest problem right now.

Indeed, Sean Dyche’s side registered just one effort on target all afternoon, coming from one of eight shots they managed.

The Toffees are still without a goal at Goodison Park this season and will be relegated from the division unless they can start finding the net far more regularly than they currently are.

Beto has showed promise in his three appearances since arriving from Udinese, while the untested Youssef Chermiti has also arrived, yet it is Calvert-Lewin who arguably still holds the key to survival.

The England international has showed he is prolific at this level as long as he stays fit, which is of course easier said than done.

It basically means the stark reality for Everton is that they will be playing Championship football next season if main man DCL cannot stay fit.

In other Everton news, journalist Alan Myers has shared his verdict on 777 Partners’ planned takeover and what it means for the Toffees.