In football there are no guarantees. The game never owes any team anything in the course or at the end of any match. You simply take what you get at the blast of the final whistle. You may dominate an encounter and still lose..conversely you can suffer all through 90mins catch a lucky break, score a late winner and end the game victorious. So where am i getting to with this? Simple Twitter Goons need to relax..Its okay to feel disappointed with a result but its naive in the extreme to get angry because you feel you deserve anything more than what you got. Football doesn't work that way.. Fine, complain if your team puts up a limp performance in a game, but if they didn't and were decent but only came up against inspired opponents who gave as good as they got, just accept it.
In my preview, i pointed out that Everton will not enter this encounter with fear or inferiority to us and they proved exactly that. The match began with us struggling to settle whilst they were already flying. I'll say this about them, on the basis of what i saw with my eyes those victories over Chelsea and United were not flukes. They are a very impressive team. Their organization and shape over 90 mins was as good as any top side out there. A really tough side they are and you have to give massive props to Martinez for this. We on the other hand were a bit taken aback by their quality it seems in the first half. We were definitely 2nd best in that first half. Slow on the 50-50's and looking like we were the away side! A friend after the end of that half insisted the Everton players go for random tests for drugs as they were almost 100% efficient in tracking our runners and closing down our options like clockwork. Such was the well drilled nature of their discipline and hardwork. We improved sightly in the 2nd half, but you didn't see any reason to get comfy as Everton remained Menacing. Our goal came after a rare period of dominance following the exit of Ramsey,Cazorla and Wilshere and intro of Theo,Flamini and Rosicky. It has to be said the midfield today was nowhere as good as we know it can be. Too many misplaced passes and also over elaboration when keeping it simple would have been better. Ozil took his goal well but Giroud showed a bit of the kind of wastefulness that fuels talks of getting another striker that would push him down to 2nd choice. The defense in my opinion coped with as much as they threw at us, though we were punished on the one occasion we switched off, it was a disappointing goal to concede. Gibbs should have been more proactive by harrying Delofeu more and perhaps force him wide or something. So overall it was an opportunity to extend our leadership gap wasted but for any one who watched this game you cannot help but raise your hands up and say its a fair result in-spite of the disappointing nature of it. Here's a quick player rating
Szczesny-------------8
Despite the goal, he had another good game. Made fine saves in the first half and second halves when he had to. The most eye catching was the one from the snap shot by Pienaar. That ball was swerving like crazy making it difficult. Can be proud of his shift.
Mertasacker----------8
Great as always, Per just keeps it simple and his sense of organisation is unparalleled. He was the man watching Mirallas who was subbed later in the 2nd half, that's the sort of job Per did.
Koscielny-------------8.5
Imperious at times was Kos up against the dreaded Lukaku. He gave the Belgian no chance at all to cause havoc. Tight on him like a second skin Koscielny bossed the striker from start to finish. When we conceded i saw Koscielny berate Gibbs for his naivety whilst marking the scorer. If that had been him, a toe poke and that would have been that.
Jenkinson-------------6
This guy is in need of serious game time to iron out a lot of his rough edges. And i can't understand why a loan deal hasn't been arranged for him. There's a good player in there, but goodness me he needs to work on a lot about his composure. He had some hairy moments but didn't fair too badly against Pienaar/Oviedo but i can't help feeling he's one kick or header away from calamity.
Gibbs------------------7
Next time you watch the highlights of the game look at Koscielny's reaction at Gibbs as the equalizer is scored. He is angry ostensibly at Gibbs for not doing more to push Delofeu back as opposed to just standing there in front of him. That passage of play was the Left back's only mistake. He should have scored too in the 1st half. He was aside that, largely good as always and i would have scored him an 8 if not for that incident. I hope he learns the important lesson that in such defensive scenarios, its crucial to be decisive and not passive.
Arteta------------------7
Atreta was involved all game long and got fully stuck in the midfield battles with his former teammates. Looked isolated somewhat at times no thanks to the relatively off day Ramsey and Cazorla had tonight. However Mikel won a lot of balls back for us when we lost it due to overplaying and poor passing. Hope he stays fit, his experience and discipline are crucial.
Ramsey-----------------6.5
Not anywhere close to the meteoric heights he has been delivering all season tonight. However he was still doing the regulars tackling and breaking up of play where we could. A lot of his passes where poor today it has to be said, and when he struggles like this it seems to affect others in midfield. Had 2 great moments in the 1st & 2nd half when in the first his dummy to Giroud set him up but the toe poke was saved. Then he executed a superb goal bound half-volley from a Gibbs cross that again Howard punched round the post. I just think he still needs a rest atm
Wishere------------------5
No sign of his trademark runs on the ball...or forays into the box to help the attack. Was getting a lot undue attention from Everton defenders though. Not a day to remember for jack.
Cazorla------------------6
Started the game badly but later grew into its pace. His close control and ability to wriggle out of tight areas is still a great attribute, but in all Santi has not reached the level he did last season. His passing was not good today and the over elaborate stuff killed our forward momentum at times. He had one good chance to score with his head, but nodded tamely back to Howard in the 2nd half before being subbed.
Ozil----------------------8
Another influential outing from Ozil. He continued where he left off vs Hull city. Directing dangerous passes from the right flank to the final third. Scored a nice goal that was just rewards for his efforts in the game. I liked the way he took some crunchy tackles and did no more than get himself up and get on with it.
Giroud---------------------6
Worked hard, as is expected from him and did his link-up play with the Midfielders well. But again showed his limitations as a player with his inability to convert easy chances with anything other than his Left foot. Perhaps if that chip fell on his left foot instead of his right we'd have been 1-0 up in the 1st half. I completely align myself with the argument that purchasing a striker in January is a must if we are to win anything. There are going to be other games such as this Everton one where chances will not be easy to come by. Hence conversion efficiency will be imperative. Unlucky to have seen a rocket smash the bar late-on but even he will be critical of himself today.
SUBS
Walcott-----------------7
Provided the assist for the first goal, and looked like he was sharp and getting close to his regular self. I expect him to start in Naples Wednesday as a challenging week comes up.
Rosicky-----------------7
Provided the exquisite cross that led to Theo heading across for Ozil to score. Some folks were of the opinion that this was the kind of game that would have suited him to start because of his ball carrying abilities. But Jack who started has the same skill, even though he was unable to get going all game long. As in Walcott above i'd like to see him start against Napoli.
Flamini------------------6
Another debatable one viz-a-viz if he should have started whilst Ramsey rested. Came in and provided Arteta more help and presence. And you can't discountenance his vocal input on the pitch. I know it sounds like hindsight but it just could have made the difference at crucial times.
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