Everton vs Arsenal Player Ratings: Jake O’Brien handball and inconsistent VAR costs the game

Jake O’Brien will certainly not be tuning into the highlights for this clash anytime soon after his handball decided the game. A bizarre moment, while trying to defend a corner-kick, led to Arsenal’s Viktor Gyokeres scoring the only goal of the night from the penalty spot at Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Everton, missing several key players, began the match on a positive note and took the game to the league leaders. However, O’Brien’s handball arrested all of the positive momentum as the hosts spent the rest of the first half trying to prevent Mikel Arteta’s side from doubling their lead.

Everton were also denied a penalty of their own after William Saliba caught Thierno Barry’s leg inside his own box while trying to compete for the same ball. VAR, however, ruled it out inexplicably.

While the Toffees did venture further forward in the second half, it was always going to be a tough ask breaking down the most disciplined defence in the league, especially without Iliman Ndiaye and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.

David Moyes’ changes were also late, as they often tend to be, with Charly Alcaraz and Dwight McNeil barely making a positive impression and should’ve been replaced earlier in the second half.

Further blushes were spared when Leandro Trossard hit the woodwork after finding himself in a 1v1 with Jordan Pickford. In the end, Everton ended the contest without a shot on target as a moment of madness in the first half essentially sealed the game.

Here are the player ratings from Everton’s 1-0 loss to Arsenal:

Jordan Pickford: 6

Not a whole lot that Jordan Pickford could’ve done to avoid the result. He was beaten for pace and power by Gyokeres’ strong penalty and had his left post to thank for thwarting Trossard’s attempt. The Everton keeper made a good punch away from a corner kick late in the game, but his passing accuracy was not up to his usual standards.

Jake O’Brien: 3.5

Gave away the penalty with a needless handball inside his own box while defending from a corner-kick that led to the Arsenal opener. O’Brien’s hands were in an unnatural position, leaving VAR with no option but to call the referee to the monitor, which is a shame given how positively the Toffees had started the game. While his defensive performance was fine, he didn’t contribute a lot going forward.

James Tarkowski: 7

Made a brilliant block on Viktor Gyokeres to prevent Arsenal from doubling their lead before half-time. Tarkowski’s passing from the back was also sharp, often going long and direct to Thierno Barry successfully. 

He had a flawless defensive performance, besides one moment late in the game when, in an exhausted effort to clear the ball, he ended up conceding a corner with the ball missing Pickford’s far post by only a small margin.

Michael Keane: 7.5

Held his own in tussles against Gyokeres and was authoritative while leading from the back. Keane also defended well against Bukayo Saka, not allowing the Arsenal winger to come inside and threaten Pickford’s goal.

Vitalii Mykolenko: 7

There were several occasions during the game when Mykolenko found himself as a lone-man defence with Arsenal’s forwards breaking on the counter from Everton’s free-kicks. His defending during those moments against Gyokeres, Saka and Martinelli was perfect and Mykolenko also kept Saka and Jurrien Timber at bay on his flank for most of the game.

Tim Iroegbunam: 7

Iroegbunam registered a solid performance in the middle, holding shape ahead of the backline and mopping things up. He had the most tackles (seven) in the game and won eight out of his 10 ground duels.

James Garner: 6.5

Had to step up as the leader of Everton’s midfield in Idrissa Gana Gueye’s absence. Garner kept things ticking, and often dropped deeper in between the centre-backs to build play from the back.

Charly Alcaraz: 4 (replaced by Merlin Rohl at 75’)

It was a poor performance from Charly Alcaraz, who started in the number 10 role with Dewsbury-Hall out injured. While there was no shortage of industry from the Argentine, he made a string of loose touches and all his actions in possession looked rushed, leading to several ball losses and wasted opportunities.

Dwight McNeil: 5 (replaced by Tyler Dibling at 75’)

Didn’t see much of the ball for large portions of the game and failed to exert himself on proceedings. Tried to swing in a few dangerous-looking crosses from his flank but they were well read by David Raya.

Thierno Barry: 6 (replaced by Beto at 65’)

The French striker didn’t get a lot of chances to work with once Everton went behind. However, Barry’s centre-forward play was pretty good, as he battled for long balls from in behind, held up play and stitched positive passes with his teammates. Barry should've also won a penalty for his side after being kicked in the foot by Saliba inside his own box, but to the dismay of everyone at Hill Dickinson Stadium, VAR stayed mum.

Jack Grealish: 5

Jack Grealish failed to get the better of Jurren Timber for most of the game. He also didn’t find himself with much space to work with and, as a result, had to drop deeper than usual. A quiet night for the loanee.

Substitutions

Beto: 6

Showed a lot of graft and kept William Saliba on his toes, winning the ball off him on one occasion. Although he put in the hard yards after coming on, the Everton number 9, like Barry, didn’t have many openings to work with.

Merlin Rohl: 5

First game back after several weeks on the sidelines, Rohl looked a bit rusty, giving away the ball on a few occasions. However, there was one positive moment where he looked to lead a counter-attack with Arsenal’s players committed higher up, but his teammates failed to join in time, forcing him to go back.

Tyler Dibling - 5

Failed to influence proceedings after coming on and still seems pretty short on confidence.

 

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