Arsenal move level with Man City as Konsa and Gabriel sink Everton
Arsenal moved level on points with Manchester City at the top of the Premier League after a 2-0 win over Everton at the Emirates, with Ezri Konsa and Gabriel Magalhães on the scoresheet.
Konsa opened his Arsenal account in the seventh minute, the goal arriving from the club's third corner in succession. Gabriel got the crucial first contact at the near post, Jordan Pickford tipped the effort onto the crossbar, and Vitaliy Mykolenko's clearance fell straight to Konsa, who rammed the ball home from close range. It was Arsenal's first set piece goal, excluding penalties, since May against Crystal Palace, ending a run of 13 games without one after a record breaking 25 such goals last season.
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Mikel Arteta made five changes from the midweek Champions League trip to face Bayern Munich, with Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke both missing chances to extend the lead in front of watching England head coach Thomas Tuchel. Madueke, left out of the most recent England squad, was Arsenal's most dangerous outlet and went close with an instinctive effort from the edge of the area.
Gabriel doubles the lead
Everton held on until midway through the second half, Thierno Barry almost equalising from close range before half time, but could not survive a David Raya clean sheet for long. Within 60 seconds of Viktor Gyökeres being substituted, Gabriel headed in at the back post from a brilliant Ben White cross.
Gyökeres, making his first Premier League start of the season, had already been shown a card for a foul on James Tarkowski that saw Arteta booked for his protests on the touchline. The Swede is yet to score for Arsenal this term.
Everton arrived at the Emirates having won just twice in 35 previous visits and were without Jarrad Branthwaite and Jack Grealish, the latter ruled out with illness. According to Opta, this was David Moyes's 400th defeat across all competitions as a manager, with 31 of those losses coming against Arsenal, more than against any other opponent he has faced.
“It was always going to be hard after conceding the early goal,” Moyes said. “I want us to challenge the top teams but it's difficult when you see the strength of their bench.”
Title race context
Arsenal's win came on the same day Manchester City lost to Aston Villa, meaning both sides remain level at the top after eight matches each, with Opta noting this is just the third top flight campaign in history to see two teams win at least seven of their opening eight fixtures.
Asked about facing City again amid the uncertainty surrounding their 115 charge guilty verdict from the Premier League, Arteta kept his focus on his own squad. “We are just focusing on what we can do,” he said. “We are very pleased with 90% of the results and performances that we have.”
Arsenal will look to maintain their pace at the top as the title race continues to take shape.
