By Tony Attwood
Arsenal have played Everton 227 times – which I think is more than anyone else but I’ve not gone back to check. Of these Arsenal have won 114, 48 have been drawn and 65 lost. So obviously we play them a lot and get the better of them a lot. But that is not to say it is always thus. For example from December 2020 for 6 December 2021 Arsenal played Everton four times and lost the lot. Even more curiously, having won the fifth gave 5-1 on 22 May 2022, the defeats then returned with a 0-1 loss on 4 February 2023.
But Arsenal have been unbeaten in the lasts seven games between the two going back to the 4-0 win on 1 March 2023, and through to the most recent match last March. That makes a run of seven unbeaten in the last seven games (five wins, two draws)
Arsenal have recorded more league victories against Everton than against any other club, having beaten them 100 times in the first 202 attempts and becoming the first team in English history to attain a century of wins against another club.
But despite this dominance Everton have meanwhile themselves won 15 of the major trophies, and in the 19080s won the League and Cup Winners Cup and also had a series of Community Shield wins. But then matters faded away until 1995 after they won the FA Cup But since the formation of the FA Premier League in 1992, their highest league finish has been 4th in 2005; on three occasions they have finished 17th, one place above the relegation zone. So maybe that is who Tottenham have been trying to emulate in recent times. Maybe Tottenham and Everton should play each other at the end of each season in the play off for clubs that like to think they are big but actually are not.
But to be more generous we can see them as a solid, fairly dependable top division club, but not a regular title winner. Thus their position in the league vis a vis Arsenal is something we are fairly used to…
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester City | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 7 | 12 | 21 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 18 |
| 3 | Brighton and Hove Albion | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 23 | 5 | 18 | 16 |
| 4 | Chelsea | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 13 | 4 | 13 |
| 5 | Liverpool | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 12 |
| 6 | Brentford | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 10 |
| 7 | Leeds United | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 10 |
| 8 | Everton | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 10 |
But this shoulld not be taken to mean that they have no attributes to hold them in the top division. For they have won 2431 league games and lost 1957, scoring 9170 and conceding 7880. So we can say that they do indeed have their moments, but just not as many as Arsenal.
However the difference between games won (65) and lost (114) against Arsenal is significant, especially for two teams that have been playing each other regularly since 1905. So it is now seven games in succession without a win and they will be wanting to overturn that run this weekend. But I think with a record like that we can understand fairly easily which is why the TV companies are not especially excited by this game.
As we have noted however Everton is a club with a new stadium, and as we have again already noted they, like Tottenham have found that a millstone not an advertange. It may all come right in the end, but possibly not for a while.
But perhaps the one thing they can see in their favour over what is for them a disastrous run of games is that all runs have to come to an end some time and the current run really is a bit of a problem for Everton. Here it is just in case you like keeping score, from an Arsenal point of view…
| Date | Game | Res | Score |
| 1 Mar 2023 | Arsenal v Everton | W | 4-0 |
| 17 Sep 2023 | Everton v Arsenal | W | 0-1 |
| 19 May 2024 | Arsenal v Everton | W | 2-1 |
| 14 Dec 2024 | Arsenal v Everton | D | 0-0 |
| 05 Apr 2025 | Everton v Arsenal | D | 1-1 |
| 20 Dec 2025 | Everton v Arsenal | W | 0-1 |
| 14 Mar 2026 | Arsenal v Everton | W | 2-0 |
If you have a radio you will probably be able to find a radio commentary although in England I guess it will be on Match of the Day tonight.
