Everton claim victory over pitiful Arsenal

Arsenal's away form has been nothing to scream and shout about this season with just five wins from 14 on the road. Combine that with an Everton side who have found form recently, and Sunday's Premier League clash was expected to be an exciting one.

Despite their poor form on the road, it was Arsenal who registered the first clear chance of the game with Lacazette and Ozil. The ball flashed across the face of goal twice before Jagielka intervened to clear the danger for Everton.

The Toffees' veteran earned himself even more recognition in the tie after drawing first blood in the match with a point blank tap in. Lucas Digne's long throw in came in and Arsenal failed to deal with it, allowing Jagielka possibly one of the easiest goals he'll ever score.

That would be indicative of Arsenal's performance for the remainder of the first-half - uninspired and lacking creativity. Everton weren't exactly groundbreaking but they definitely managed to use their possession more efficiently that Unai Emery's side.

Half-time came at the wrong time for Everton who were starting to settle into a rhythm, whereas it couldn't have come faster for Arsenal who desperately needed either a change of personnel or at least a change in tactics.

A change of personnel it was as Emery opted to remove Elneny and Kolasinac from the field of play to make way for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Aaron Ramsey. The latter had a clear chance on an open goal within minutes of the restart but somehow managed to fire it over the crossbar. Very telling of Arsenal's recent form.

The changes obviously did something for Arsenal whose pressure culminated in numerous corners inside the first 20 minutes of the second-half. Unfortunately for Emery though, his side lacked that final finesse to finish on target.

Despite that, Arsenal claimed the majority of possession meaning that Everton had to wait until the 63rd minute for their clearest chance of the second half, at which point two chances came in a row.

Leno cut out the first one before Everton's forwards arrived in the box but the resulting rebound ended up in Gylfi Sigurdsson's path. He hit it first time on the volley but it was wild.

An even clearer chance came the Icelandic player's way after Richarlison broke away down the right flank and this time managed to pick someone out.

Sigurdsson chased it down well, flying into the box, but his final finish wasn't quite as impressive as he could only direct it towards Leno who was ready and waiting. Anywhere else and Everton would have doubled their lead going into the final 15 minutes of the match.

As we approached the end of regulation time, there wasn't a lot happening on the field for Arsenal. Off the pitch however, Ozil was seen throwing his coat at Marco Silva. With Arsenal's lack of spark, and general attacking ability, the frustration was understandable.

The referee blew his final whistle with Everton firmly in the driving seat, leaving Arsenal deflated and dishevelled after 90 minutes of dismal football. Unai Emery will need a serious rethink if he and his side are serious about challenging for both the Europa League title, and a top four Premier League finish.

They are now level with Chelsea on points, while Everton move up to ninth place. Their next match will be against Fulham at Craven Cottage, while Arsenal host Napoli on Thursday in the Europa League semi-finals.