Gabriel Martinelli scored twice as Arsenal thrashed Everton 4-0 at the Emirates Stadium to move five points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table.
The Gunners were frustrated by Everton for the first 40 minutes but Bukayo Saka’s brilliantly-taken opener caused the floodgates to open as Mikel Arteta’s side capitalised on their game in hand in ruthless style.
Martinelli netted his first goal of the night with a cool finish after Saka had tackled Idrissa Gueye (45+1), the goal reinstated by VAR after the Brazilian was initially flagged offside.
Martin Odegaard then extended their advantage from close range following a slick attack (71), with Martinelli adding his second and Arsenal’s fourth (80) to cap a one-sided second half.
The victory made it three wins on the bounce for Arsenal, providing another statement about their title credentials, while Everton remain mired in relegation trouble in 18th place.
A month on from their 1-0 victory over the Gunners at Goodison Park, Sean Dyche’s side initially appeared to pick up where they left off, keeping Arsenal firmly at arm’s length for much of the first half and threatening intermittently at the other end.
Neal Maupay had their best chances, shooting too close to Aaron Ramsdale from the edge of the box, then failing to make a proper connection with a Dwight McNeil cross.
The former Brighton striker then spurned another opening midway through the half, his shot blocked by Gabriel Magalhaes as the visitors wasted a four-on-two counter-attack.
Up at the other end, Arsenal’s attacks came to nothing, the home fans growing increasingly frustrated as Everton sought to slow the game down, but the mood changed completely when Oleksandr Zinchenko finally found a way through, his incisive pass releasing Saka, who took his chance brilliantly from an angle.
The opener came from only their second shot of the night – a statistic which reflected the effectiveness of Everton’s defensive performance up until that point – but from then on Arsenal were completely dominant and extended their lead soon afterwards.
Martinelli was initially flagged offside after Saka had robbed the ball off a dawdling Gueye, who was subsequently taken off at half-time, but soon enough Arsenal were celebrating, the VAR check ruling in their favour as they took a commanding lead into the break.
The second half was a story of near-total Arsenal dominance, with Thomas Partey, on for Jorginho at the interval, dictating proceedings and Odegaard scoring the third from Leandro Trossard’s centre.
Sky Sports
