Arsenal 2 Everton 1
Giroud 36 Koscielny 38 Barkley 45+2
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A nicely entertaining game in monsoon conditions.
Those Arsenal headers were one minute and 40 seconds apart.
Two headers won three points and left Arsenal top of the table at the end of an encouraging week.
When Gabriel showed Barkley onto his weaker foot the midfielder blasted a shot that took a big deflection, spinning off the defender’s leg and wrong-footing Cech.
Between 45 and 60 minutes, Everton played some slick-pass-and-move football, mostly prompted by Ross Barkley.
A natural playmaker who moves with easy authority, Barkley confirming his recent improvement. Against a team who play his kind of football, he glided into spaces that didn’t seem to be there two seconds ago, and hardly wasted a pass.
Barkley seems to have found another level. Roy Hodgson will be very interested to see if he can keep it going
Very good performances by Coquelin and Ozil, by Gabriel and Koscielny.
And one of Giroud’s best games.
The key incident of the second half was a save by Petr Cech in 86 after Lukaku’s cross found Deulefeu in the D. As the winger was taking two very quick touches, Cech was automatically moving forward fast and to his left to block the shot, which Deulefeu tried to place into the bottom corner.
Fantastic goalkeeping.
Bottom line?
No Premier League team can go for both the League and the Champions League.
That’s impossible. You have to choose.