Even though Everton started out pretty well, they are now struggling to find their form. The only good result they had in months was the 2-0 victory against West Ham who have had a tough season so far. Odds are in Arsenal’s favor who are looking like they have a great chance to win this year’s Premier League title. The Gunners definitely need a good result as their next match is against Manchester City and morale is very important when it comes to facing direct title contenders. If Arsenal manage to get 3 points against City they will have a relatively easy ride until the 4th of February when they will face Chelsea and then Bayern Munich.
Not only will 3 points against Everton keep Arsenal close to Chelsea but they would also maintain a safe distance between them and the next 3 teams chasing the title. The game against the Toffees could be the key to the festive season’s positive outcome: win and get a good energy boost to defeat City or lose and go down a dangerous slope which everyone knows, could cost any team dearly regardless of how early in the season we are.
Everton’s boss, Ronald Koeman looked quite aware of the limitations of his team and suggested that the Toffees will try their best to get a good result against Arsenal – a good result sounded more like a draw rather than a win: “If we keep a compact team we can make it difficult for them. This Arsenal team is one of the favorites to win the title.” – the Dutchman said as reported by the Premier League’s official website.
In terms of lot Arsenal have bigger issues than Everton as Mustafi and Ramsey were ruled out by Wenger. Of course there is also Cazorla, Welbeck and Mertesacker who will not be back anytime soon. On the other side Koeman will only have to deal with Yannick Bolasie and Besic’s absences. The numbers are in the Gunners’ favor who have lost just one match out of their last 18 encounters with Everton. Hopefully, with Sanchez and the guys in good form this will be just a warm-up game before the Manchester City clash.
We think Arsenal will come out on top in a tight game by the score of 2-1 as the Gunners will have too much for the Toffees.