Everton hand Arsenal shock defeat on Sean Dyche debut

Arsenal suffered their second league defeat of the Premier League season on Saturday as Everton stunned the table toppers in their first game under new manager Sean Dyche. The Toffees produced a phenomenal performance in front of their home fans, with James Tarkowski’s second-half header giving the home side a morale-boosting victory at Goodison Park.

Everton snapped a nine-game winless streak in the Premier League with this victory, but the Toffees still remain in the relegation zone with 18 points from 21 games. Arsenal, meanwhile, missed out on a golden opportunity to go eight points clear at the top of the table, with Mikel Arteta’s side losing their first Premier League fixture since September.

The Gunners were unchanged from their 3-2 victory against Manchester United but struggled to impose their authority in front of a feisty Everton crowd at Goodison Park. Buoyed by their home support, Sean Dyche’s side started brightly and pressed with intensity from the first whistle. Everton outmatched Arsenal’s physicality in midfield and nearly opened the scoring in the first half-hour, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin nearly getting on the end of Amadou Onana’s cross and Abdoulaye Doucoure heading wide.

Arsenal manufactured a few chances of their own, with Eddie Nketiah firing a wide and Bukayo Saka’s effort cleared off the line by Conor Coady. The best chance of the half, though, fell to Dominic Calvert-Lewin, whose header from Seamous Coleman’s cross drifted inches wide of the post.

Everton’s stubborn 4-5-1 shape frustrated Arsenal’s free-flowing attackers, and the home side were rewarded for their discipline in the second half as they took the lead through James Tarkowski. The Englishman outmuscled Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard at the back post and redirected Dwight McNeil’s corner past Aaron Ramsdale to put Everton in front.

Mikel Arteta brought on Fabio Vieira as well as January signings Leandro Trossard and Jorginho to help Arsenal rescue a point, but Everton held firm throughout a nervy final half-hour to secure a momentous victory. The Gunners had a penalty shout turned down by the referee following a tackle on Gabriel from Neal Maupay, while Jordan Pickford had to make one reaction save to deny a stinging Leandro Trossard effort. However, Arsenal created few chances of note to put Everton under any real threat and were limited to just three shots on target throughout the 90 minutes.

The Toffees will look to build on this momentum in the Merseyside derby against Liverpool at Anfield next week in their quest for Premier League survival. Arsenal, meanwhile, will have to bounce back from this rare defeat against Brentford at home to re-establish their credentials as genuine title challengers.