Mikel Arteta deluded after what he’s said about Arsenal draw v Everton
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is deluded if he truly believes the latest comments he has made following last weekend’s draw with Everton.
The Toffees became the first side this season to stop Arsenal from scoring at Emirates Stadium in a 0-0 stalemate on 14 December, much to the surprise of one pundit.
Everton were good value for their point, with Jordan Pickford in particular superb on the day, yet Arteta clearly feels otherwise.
Speaking ahead of the Gunners’ EFL Cup clash with Crystal Palace on Wednesday (18 December), as relayed by Fabrizio Romano on X, Arteta claimed Arsenal should have won comfortably.
Arteta is quoted as saying: “Criticism? We deserved to win the last six games by a mile.”
Arsenal struggle to break down Everton at Emirates Stadium
First and foremost, it is fair to say that Arsenal were the better side. No Everton supporter can deny that. But Arteta is going beyond that in saying his side should have won “by a mile”.
Unfortunately for Arteta, his side did not create enough and when they did they could not make the most of the opportunities.
Football matches are decided by teams sticking the ball in the net – or the opposition preventing them from doing so – and Arsenal were unable to beat Pickford once.
As per Opta, Arsenal generated an expected goals (xG) value of 1.22 on the day. That suggests they should have scored one goal based on the quality of chances created.
To say the Gunners were a “mile” better than Everton, though, is clearly wide of the mark and surely Arteta knows that.
Everton deserve praise for standing strong and coming away with a point, with Sean Dyche’s gameplan working a treat – as pointed out by Chris Sutton.
The 4-0 win over Wolves last month was big for Everton, yet in many ways it feels like this draw in North London is the true turning point in the campaign.
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