The Toffees ended a winless run that stretched as far back as September, with a 2-1 success over a hapless Arsenal. The Gunners took the lead in this game but conceded twice late on to fall to a second successive defeat.
Two sides in desperate need of a win – Everton and Arsenal – met at the Goodison Park to close out the matchday 15 of the Premier League. Rafael Benitez’s side, without a positive result in eight, escaped with the three points, in the end, thanks to two late goals, one each by Richarlison and Demarai Gray.
Tempers flared just as the clock struck 30 inside the Goodison as Ben Godfrey escaped a booking, let alone a red card, for a stamp – albeit accidental – on Takehiro Tomiyasu’s face. Later, a minute before half-time, VAR intervened again to rule out Richarlison’s goal, the Brazilian deemed to be marginally offside when he headed in a set-piece.
To make matters worse for the Toffees, Arsenal scored at the other end shortly after through Martin Odegaard. The Norwegian timed his run to perfection as he met a Kieran Tierney cross, which he volleyed past Jordan Pickford with the side of his foot.
Everton, looking not to make it nine league games without a win, had a second goal ruled out for offside in the 57th minute. Richarlison the victim again, as the video referee discovered that the forward had momentarily strayed offside as he received a pass from Abdoulaye Doucoure before scoring.
Nonetheless, Everton were awarded for their persistence in the 79th minute. After Gray had hit the crossbar with his long-range effort, the Brazilian was present to head the rebound home – and this time, legally.
Five minutes later, though, Arsenal could have retaken the lead through substitute Eddie Nketiah. The young forward somehow headed a Bukayo Saka cross against the post before the ball hit him and bounced away to safety. Everton survived the scare, and scored the winner in the second minute of stoppage time.
The ever-influential Gray collected the ball from Andre Gomes on the left wing, dribbled inwards, skipping past Tomiyasu and Gabriel in the process, and fired in a stunning shot from distance.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang could have equalized with almost the last kick of the game. The forward found himself in plenty of space inside the Evertonian box after a smart dummy by Gabriel, but his shot from close range failed to hit the target. Arsenal, with their sixth loss of the season already, down to seventh in the table.
