Arsenal’s dominance in their goalless draw against Everton this afternoon was best reflected in the staggering number of passes they completed. Despite controlling the game from start to finish, the Gunners could not find the breakthrough needed to secure all three points.
Facing an Everton side under Sean Dyche that thrives on deep, organised defending, Arsenal knew they were in for a frustrating evening. Everton has built a reputation for sacrificing possession and focusing on defensive solidity, and this match was no different. They allowed Arsenal to dictate the tempo and control the game while sitting back and soaking up pressure.
The Gunners, to their credit, applied relentless pressure throughout the match, dominating both territory and possession. According to Premier League Productions, Arsenal completed over 665 passes in the fixture—an impressive feat and their highest total in a Premier League game this season. This statistic highlights just how much of the game Arsenal controlled, but as the old adage goes, possession counts for nothing without goals.
Despite their control, Arsenal struggled to create clear-cut chances against Everton’s disciplined defence. Every attacking move seemed to run into a wall, with Everton answering every question posed by the Gunners. Jordan Pickford, Everton’s standout performer on the night, made crucial interventions when called upon to ensure his side left the Emirates with a point.
This was a disappointing result for Arsenal, especially as they entered the game following their midweek Champions League victory over AS Monaco. The inability to break down a stubborn Everton defence highlights an ongoing issue for Mikel Arteta’s side—turning dominance into goals.
While there were some encouraging performances, the failure to capitalise on possession and break down a predictable low block raises questions about the team’s preparation and adaptability. If Arsenal wants to compete at the highest level, they must turn these performances into results.
Let’s just forget about the staggering number of passes and focus on the deluge of basic errors committed by the gaffer today. A few examples:
– wasting midfield general Partey at rightback
– withdrawing Odegaard, our assist king
– withdrawing Rice when chasing the game
– ignoring Ethan Nwaneri until late in the game
– overplaying out-of-form Martinelli.
– ignoring Raheem Sterling, again
No disrespect to either Everton or Fulham, but we should not be struggling with teams outside of the top six.
After over 5 years in charge it’s time to seriously consider if Mikel Arteta is still the right manager to lead this squad.
Rice asked to go off as he had a problem.
To be fair, Nwaneri did get 30 minutes, although at the expense of Ødegaard (could they have played together?), Rice asked to come off, and the switches of Partey & Timber were due to the ineffective Lewis-Skelly being withdrawn.
Much of our passing was of the safety variety.
Tierney at left back problem solved.
Another example of Arteta’s complete mismanagement of Tierney.
No need to switch Timber at all.
All the so-called basic errors are just silly trumped-up talking points and a reflection of the poor insight of certain fans whose only interest is to get rid of the manager.
Yes, it wasn’t a great performance but surely people can do better than this if they are truly trying to criticise constructively.
Embarrassing futility against the Toffees.
A decent Striker required, that’s all.
Unless dominating the game results in 3 points, Arsenal lacks a player capable of carrying the ball through the opposition. It’s all passing without a significant end product.
Something I saw on BBC webside. The drop off in our goals after 16 games for the past three seasons.
Season 2022/23 goals 40
Season 2023/24 goals 33
season 2024/25 goals29
Far too much reliance on set pieces.
Jax, you can’t say that!!!!
Yes Jax,
Arteta is taking this team backwards. He’s had five years now, and another trophy less season should see Arteta shown the door.
How long do we have to wait for a trophy from this joker.
I’ve already come to terms with the fact we’re never winning the league with Arteta in charge.
He lacks what it takes.
Last season he seemed to be getting it right, not until the ‘typical Arteta’ side of him took over against Villa at the Emirates. The rest is history now.
In the end, it is what it is.
The search for that manager that will take charge of the next phase of our evolution i.e winning trophies must begin.
Twinlights,
Well said, in total agreement.
Arteta would probably have gone to bed last night with a warm glow in his heart at the prowess of the team keeping the ball from Evertons grasp. To improve it he unbalanced an unbalanced team even more, playing players outof position. As wel as moving our non striker to midfield and bringing another non striker on and letting him play in every position except striker, including the final seconds when Jesus was receiving the ball in our own half. He was our striker when we needed a goal. At least he was probably the one that broke the record.
I got so side tracked I forgot to write on the original piece that I had just read.
All these stupid records that people go on about. In this instance on the record number of passes in the game.
So what, all those record passes never lead to a goal.
It seems to me, that no matter what, there are some people are just so determined to give a so called impressive stat, to cover the fact that we’ve got a clueless manager, who is once again
going oversee a season where we fail to win the league once again.
But don’t worry people, we hold the record for the most passes in a game. (Really, is that what we’ve come to).😣🤦♂️
I’ve always had the same view on these pointless made up records .
790 odd passes and 770 sideways or backwards .
But hey atleast we now hold the record ,something for the fans to rejoice in at the end of the season .
Maybe they will make a DVD of it .
Dan Kit,
You talk about a DVD of it.
I’d go one better and have a statue in honour of it, with the great Arteta holding the record stat in his hand.😂🤣👍
🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳 to the passing record.