Paddy Boyland tells podcaster to stop talking Everton scenario into existence after what he said about Arsenal

Everton fans often joke about how their club has an unhealty habit of ending opposition ruts.

Indeed, you only have to take last week as an example of that playing out in real time.

Chelsea made the trip to the Hill Dickinson Stadium and headed back to West London with a 2-0 victory.

Prior to that, the Blues had not managed to keep a clean in their previous 22 Premier League encounters.

The more glib among the fanbase, or those who love a bit of gallows humour perhaps, would shake the head and say "Everton that".

But the Athletic journalist Paddy Boyland was keen to for Matt Jones to not talk something else into existence this weekend against Arsenal.

Everton hope to avoid ending surprising Arsenal stat

Everton had not been beaten in any competition this season prior to the Chelsea setback.

And there could hardly be a more difficult task to rebound from that loss than a trip to face the Premier League champions.

Surprisingly, the Gunners have yet to score from a none-penalty set-piece in the 2026/27 season.

Mikel Arteta's side have earned a reputation as set-piece specialists over the past couple of seasons.

Matt Jones brought up the stat on the Blue Room podcast, and Boyland jokingly implored him not to speak it into existence.

Jones said: "Arsenal haven't scored from a non-penalty set-piece this season so far, after 40.8 per cent of their goals in the league last season came from set-pieces.

"None of their 11 goals this season have come from a non-penalty set-piece. People hate that 'time for Everton' and all this sort of thing, but as long as they keep doing stuff like this, it's going to be a thing isn't it?

"Of course it's going to happen, it's not going to happen because I've said it on here, it's going to happen because Everton do this sort of thing all the time."

Boyland replied: "You're talking it into existence!"

To which Jones said: "No, no, no. Me putting words on the internet, or talking about them on here does not manifest these things . Everon being Everton over the course of 30-odd years manifest these things Paddy, come on."

Boyland did agree that Everton had tempted fate versus Chelsea, as he said: "It was before the Chelsea game I kept hearing about Chelsea's poor record on Merseyside and Everton were posting last time out at Hill Dickinson Stadium, just thought seen this script before, I know what's coming."

David Moyes has travel sickness versus Arsenal

Whether Everton will finally be the team to concede against Arsenal obviously remains to be seen.

But regardless, history suggests that this weekend might not go the way supporters want it to.

That's because Arsenal are unbeaten in their last seven Premier League matches against Everton (W5 D2), their best run against the Toffees since going 13 without defeat between December 2007 and December 2013.

Moreover, Everton have won just one of their last 30 away Premier League matches against Arsenal (D5 L24), a 1-0 victory in 2020-21 under Carlo Ancelotti.

Under David Moyes, the Toffees have never won away at the Gunners in 13 attempts in the league (D3 L10).

Records are there to be broken, though, right?