Credit: Imago

Daniel Davis

Sat 14 March 2026 20:40, UK

Beto truly endured an evening to forget during Everton‘s brutal 2-0 defeat by Arsenal.

David Moyes’ side looked set to claim an invaluable point at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday night, only to be undone by two goals right at the death.

A mistake from Jordan Pickford allowed Viktor Gyokeres to touch home on 89 minutes, before 16-year-old Max Dowman ran the length of the pitch and sealed the Toffees’ fate.

While the visitors delivered a defiant showing against the Premier League leaders, not every player impressed. Indeed, there are once again major question marks over their No 9.

Beto beaten too easily vs Arsenal

Beto was handed a start in North London to help Everton deal with the physicality of their opponents, and was expected to relieve the pressure during tricky periods.

There were glimpses in which he used his frame to good effect, but these highlights were too few and far between. That allowed William Saliba and Gabriel to dominate him.

Moyes can’t have been impressed but waited until the 69th minute to replace him.

As shown in Sofascore‘s graphic below, the blunt frontman took just 23 touches and lost possession 12 times. Damningly, he also completed only three carries all evening.

That meant the visitors were often penned back in and around their own half.

At the other end, Beto took just one shot with an xG of 0.11, while only two of his touches came inside Arsenal’s box, underlining his failure to stamp his authority on the game.

However, the rot didn’t stop there, with the 28-year-old winning just one out of four ground duels. He also came off second best seven times in the air.

Considering he was brought to Hill Dickinson Stadium to rough up Premier League defenders and provide cutting edge, this display leaves Everton with only one choice.

Everton simply must sell £26m misfit

Beto has scored just four goals in his 29 top-flight appearances so far this season, and the experiment simply must stop here. Indeed, Moyes can no longer trust him to do the job.

Shifting him off the books will not be simple, though.

He remains tied down to the four-year deal he signed when he arrived from Udinese for £26million, and these terms aren’t set to run down until June 2027.

The ace is believed to be earning around £60,000-a-week, and the club could do with that money to invest on other players during the upcoming transfer window.

Moyes openly declared he was “disappointed” with Beto in September 2025, and nothing will have changed. Time is up, and the club must now be brutal.