Credit: Imago

Jacob Raw

Mon 16 March 2026 7:10, UK

Everton had few positives to take from their loss to Arsenal on Saturday, but Michael Keane was one of them.

David Moyes watched his side fall to a 2-0 defeat after the Gunners scored a late double at the Emirates Stadium to continue their push for the Premier League title.

The Toffees were without Jarrad Branthwaite in the game, which prompted a start for Keane, who has had his praise already this season.

The centre-back looked destined to leave the Blues not so long ago, but now gives Moyes perhaps the biggest selection headache of them all.

Everton still want to progress up the table, and with just eight league games remaining, Moyes may need Keane more than some Blues fans think.

Michael Keane was standout Everton performer vs Arsenal; stats prove it

Keane is out of contract at the end of the season, and is showing all the reasons why he deserves a new deal right now.

If the Friedkin Group were against offering him new terms at Hill Dickinson Stadium, the Englishman would no doubt have other clubs interested in his signature.

• Keane has been with Everton since 2017
• He has now played 260 games for the club

According to Sofascore, Keane was Everton’s highest-rated player against Arsenal, with a 7.3 match score.

The centre-back made 16 defensive goal contributions in total and made one goal-line clearance, which almost helped the Toffees to a point.

He also had an 87 per cent pass ratio, which, considering the opposition and their press, is rather impressive. The former Burnley man was never dribbled past once in the game, showing his defensive qualities against world-class opposition.

The 33-year-old was undeservingly on the losing side this weekend, but Everton can certainly take confidence from his continued displays.

What Keane has given David Moyes to think about

Moyes has said that he doesn’t want to talk about Branthwaite’s exclusion from the squad that faced Arsenal, despite admitting that he thought he would be okay for the match in his pre-match press conference.

The Blues have been without the defender for the majority of the season, and there may have been concerns over his previous hamstring injury now coming back to haunt him once more.

Hamstring issues are hard to get rid of, and now Moyes needs to choose whether to rush the central defender back or continue to play Keane.

The veteran centre-half is more than deserving of a run of games, if his display against the Gunners is anything to go by, as losing Branthwaite long-term could be an even bigger issue than anything else.

The Toffees want to be playing in European football next season, and it’s a tough call that Moyes may have to make soon.