David Moyes makes blunder – Three things we learned from Everton v Arsenal
Everton and Arsenal played out a 1-1 draw at Goodison Park on Saturday in the Premier League.
Leandro Trossard opened the scoring for the visitors, but the hosts equalised courtesy of a penalty converted by Iliman Ndiaye.
With that result, the Toffees are now in 14th place with 35 points to their name.
Here are three things we learned:
Beto cannot be relied on as a regular goal scorer next season for Everton
While Beto enjoyed a decent purple patch this season, he proved that he’s not got the composure to be a regular goal scorer who can bag 10-15 league goals in a campaign.
He might go on a run where he scores in three or four games in a row, but he’s not someone one can bet on to find the back of the net.
Even against Arsenal, despite having a few touches inside the penalty area, he failed to register a single shot at goal.
He also completed just seven passes all game and lost six out of his eight attempted ground duels, per Sofascore.
While he’s a decent option to have on the bench, the Toffees need to find an upgrade in the summer.
The Friendkin Group must free up funds for a big-money midfielder transfer
Speaking of transfers, it’s important that the new owners, The Friedkin Group, set out a lot of money to sign a new midfielder this summer.
What Everton are lacking is that commanding presence in the middle of the park who’s good at retaining possession and dictating the tempo.
| Everton | Stats | Arsenal |
| 29% | Possession | 71% |
| 1.05 | xG | 1.83 |
| 2 | Big chances | 1 |
| 3 | Saves | 1 |
| 5 | Total shots | 14 |
While Idrissa Gueye does a decent job, against a side like Arsenal, he did give away the ball on numerous occasions and often got bullied.
It’s important that the Toffees sign a midfielder in his prime who can instantly strengthen the playing eleven and make other players around him better.
Along with a full-back and striker, it’s important for the club to prioritise a new midfielder in the summer transfer window and it’s important for the new owners to free up funds as soon as possible.
David Moyes makes a selection blunder in defence
David Moyes’ decision to start Nathan Patterson at left-back did not pay off, and Ian Wright even pointed out that he was lucky not to be booked.
He failed to impose himself defensively and kept getting beat by the Arsenal players, who seemed to exploit that side while attacking.
Offensively too, Patterson offered little to no threat, and that’s not something Moyes would have been too pleased about.
While Ashley Young has flaws of his own, there is an argument that he would’ve performed better in that role than the Scotland international and he actually did not do badly after he came off the bench.