Arsenal took another step towards winning their first Premier League title since 2004, beating Everton 4-0 at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday.
( MORE: How to watch the Premier League in the US )
The victory not only sends Arsenal (60 points) five points ahead of double title holders Manchester City, but also realigns the two teams (finally) on the same number of games played (25). The Gunners are yet to travel to the Etihad Stadium on April 26 with a chance to avenge one of their three Premier League defeats this season.
Everton (21 points), meanwhile, remain 18th in the table, still stuck in the relegation zone after back-to-back defeats and only one win (and one goal) since beating Arsenal on Sean Dyche’s debut on February 4.
WATCH ARSENAL vs EVERTON FULL MATCH REPLAY
Patience, perseverance pays off for Arsenal
Arsenal took all three shots in the first as they lasted 35 minutes without a single effort in the general direction of Everton’s goal, not to mention on aim. Sure, they had 70% possession, but Dyche’s team did what Dyche’s teams do. So the Gunners kept passing, probing and pressing, and Saka was decisive and ruthless when finally, in the 40th minute, Oleksandr Zinchenko found the magic ball in the box.
Six minutes later, in first-half stoppage time, Saka wreaked havoc again as Idrissa Gueye lazily swept the ball towards his own goal, collecting it and sending Martinelli to beat Jordan Pickford in the lead- headed. In six minutes, the Gunners answered so many questions about their league titles, their maturity and their confidence to stay the course through difficult times.
Commentator Peter Drury said it best, after Martinelli scored the no. 4: “There is a magnificent arrogance about Arsenal now.”
The stars of the show
Photo: FotMob.com
And after?
Arsenal will continue their quest for the title on Saturday (10 a.m. ET), when they host Bournemouth, another relegation-threatened side, in north London. Everton will visit Nottingham Forest, who quickly find themselves falling to the bottom three, on Sunday (9am ET).
How to watch Arsenal vs Everton live, stream link and start time
Kick-off: 2:45 p.m. ET, Wednesday TV Channel: USA Network Online: Stream via NBCSports.com
Key scenarios and in-form players to watch
The Gunners weren’t at their best against Leicester last time out, but they didn’t need to be. They dominated possession and Leicester barely had a chance. Arteta’s side are showing they can win games in different ways and with Trossard, Martinelli, Saka, Nketiah and Odegaard all participating with key goals at different times, they look set to keep this title push going until at the very end of the season.
Everton’s problems were scoring goals and they created some great openings against Villa but just couldn’t finish. They have scored just 17 goals this season which is the lowest number in the Premier League. They will try to keep things tight at the back and hope to wreak havoc in set-piece situations at the Emirates.
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