By Tony Attwood
- Arsenal v Everton: the referee, fouls and the king of the yellow cards
- Arsenal v Everton. Saturday at 5.30. Everton’s problems explored.
So now, for all the talk of Arsenal coming off the rails, it has been five wins and two draws in the last seven league games for Arsenal, with 16 goals scored and five goals conceded. Of course, all runs come to an end, but I am not sure this is going to be the case with Everton.
Now I chose seven games for Arsenal because that helped make the figures look better, so I’ll do the same for Everton and give the last eight games for them… They have four wins, two draws and two defeats in Permie League matches with a goals tally of ten goals for, and eight against. Here’s the table.
| Date | Game | Res | Score |
| 18 Jan 2026 | Aston Villa v Everton | W | 0-1 |
| 26 Jan 2026 | Everton v Leeds United | D | 1-1 |
| 31 Jan 2026 | Brighton and Hove v Everton | D | 1-1 |
| 07 Feb 2026 | Fulham v Everton | W | 1-2 |
| 10 Feb 2026 | Everton v AFC Bournemouth | L | 1-2 |
| 23 Feb 2026 | Everton v Manchester United | L | 0-1 |
| 28 Feb 2026 | Newcastle United v Everton | W | 2-3 |
| 03 Mar 2026 | Everton v Burnley | W | 2-0 |
And I think the point can be made that in these eight games, Everton have only come up against two clubs that might be called serious contenders for a top four finish: Aston Villa and Manchester United. Everton beat Villa away and lost to ManU at home.
And as a reminder, the overall league table reads…
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 30 | 20 | 7 | 3 | 59 | 22 | 37 | 67 |
| 8 | Everton | 29 | 12 | 7 | 10 | 34 | 33 | 1 | 43 |
The last time Everton finished in the top ten in the league was in 2019 when they were eighth. This was also the last time they finished with a positive goal difference (+8). Their last top-four finish was in 2005, and even then, they managed a negative goal difference!
The club joined the first division of the Football League in 1954/5, and this means they have had 72 consecutive seasons in the top league. The only team to have been in the league longer in terms of consecutive seasons is Arsenal, who were elected in 1913. And if you wish to engage in the discussion about Arsenal bribing their way into the league at this point, there are multiple articles on this subject on the Arsenal History Society website. Further discussion can be had there on this matter, but we do now have the rule that this is only if some sort of evidence is produced.
Anyway, back to today and the team. Arsenal station offer us
Raya
Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori
Zubemindi, Rice
Madueke, Havertz, Martinelli
Jesus
The Standard goes with a couple of variations in attack…
Raya;
Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori;
Zubimendi, Rice;
Saka, Havertz, Martinelli;
Gyokeres
Meanwhile, the Metro gives the suggestion of
Raya;
Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori;
Rice, Zubimendi, Eze;
Saka, Gyokeres, Martinelli;
And that does raise the point that whether or not Havertz is fit to play another game straight away, especially as having him in the bench is itself a huge asset.
Now normally I stop at three different team selections, but I noticed that Sports Mole are suggesgting that Arsenal will win this match by just one goal, and they have a different line-up so here is their selection for 5.30pm today.
Raya;
White, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori;
Rice, Zubimendi; Saka,
Eze, Martinelli; Havertz
So there we are. We’ll be mulling over the result tomorrow morning as usual.
