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Famous Old Foes and Modern Day Nemesis: Everton v Arsenal

Famous Old Foes and Modern Day Nemesis: Everton v Arsenal

Evertonia gave a brief resume of Arsenal’s early history in September 1961 the article stated:

Arsenal were founded in 1886 by a group of workmen in Dial Square, section of the Royal Arsenal, at Woolwich and were nicknamed “Dial Square,” then “Royal Arsenal.” It was under this latter name that the club turned professional in 1891 and were elected to the Football League, Division II in 1893. In 1896, they changed their name to Woolwich Arsenal, but shortened it to its present form in 1913 after moving from Plumstead to Highbury. In view of their early association with the Royal Arsenal, the Club is affectionately known by their supporters as the “Gunners.”

Arsenal did not gain election to the First Division until 1904, but were relegated to the Second Division in 1913, and after one season in the lower circles, the outbreak of World War One suspended all serious football. When peace was restored, the Londoners were elected to a place in the First Division to fill one of the vacancies created by the extension of the League.

Everton first took on Arsenal at Goodison Park on April 5 1905 when a goal from Alex “Sandy” Young was enough to earn Everton both points.

The most famous encounter at Goodison Park between Everton and Arsenal is undoubtedly the final game of the 1927/28 season, the match which saw the legendary William Ralph Dean set the record for the number of league goals scored by an individual player in the top flight – a record that is unlikely to be broken.

It was May 5th 1928 and it was described as a great day at Goodison Park, It was the last day of the Everton Golden Jubilee season and the club had already made sure of the League Championship. Arsenal had beaten Everton twice during that campaign – firstly at Highbury on Christmas Eve, 1927 when they had overcome Everton (3-2) and then again by the odd goal in seven in January 1928 when they had eliminated Everton (4-3) in an FA Cup Third round tie.

Arsenal as well as wanting to beat Everton for a rare treble over the Toffees would also have hoped to do well for Charles Buchan as this would be the Arsenal player’s final appearance as a footballer for the club

Dixie Dean entered the fray requiring three goals to beat George Camsell’s record. Camsell had set the record during the 1926-27 season whilst playing for Middlesbrough in the Second Division when he scored 59 League goals. Incidentally George Camsell got off to a flying start and overshadowed Dixie when he had hit all four goals against Everton in the Toffees first away game of 1927/28 campaign at Ayresome Park in Boro’s four-two win. Dixie had endured a ‘hamstring’ injury in his previous outing against Burnley (3-5) at Turf Moor where he had scored four of Everton’s five goals in an important victory George Martin had scored the fifth goal of the game for the Toffees.

Everton trainer Billy Cook stayed at Dixie’s home for the week leading up to the final game at Goodison giving Dean’s injured leg as much attention as possible. When the morning of the match dawned the 21-year old-goalscoring machine pronounced himself fit and hungry for the record! Dixie later recalled that “It was just a normal day for me,” I just got the tram – the 44 from Water Street – to Goodison in the normal way…”

Dean’s first goal of the game was also Everton’s 100th League goal of the campaign and it was also the first time that the club had registered a century of goals in a single season. The goal came as Dixie hit a powerful shot that beat the Arsenal goalkeeper after just three minutes of the match to equalise for the Toffees after Shaw had netted for the visitors. The second goal came from the penalty spot after Dixie himself had been fouled, nobody else would have dared to have taken the kick and up stepped Dixie to attempt to put the Toffees in front.

Dixie said “I aimed to place it but it wasn’t one of my best efforts. It went through the keepers legs – but they all count.” Arsenal had equalised when the unfortunate John O’Donnell had put through his own goal just after the half-hour mark to level the score at two-two. John O’Donnell had been only one of two players who had been an ever-present in the league campaign the other being Alec Troup. A description of Dean’s third and record breaking goal as reported in the Liverpool Echo by Bee states:-

With nine minutes to go, the crowd yearned for a goal to Dean or anyone, and nearly got their voices working when Martin shot and Paterson punched away over the bar for a corner kick. This was the beginning of Dean’s historic record goal in English football. Troup took the corner-kick and out of a ruck of probably fourteen players, Dean with unerring accuracy, nodded the ball to the extreme right hand side of the goal. There has never been such a joyful shout at Everton. It was prolonged for minutes and went on to the end of the game. The crowd never stopped cheering for eight solid minutes, and Dean was hugged by all his comrades…..

Although Arsenal had also scored three goals that afternoon as Shaw grabbed his second goal of the game in the eighty-sixth minute the Evertonians in the ground didn’t really care about the final score as they had come to see the Champions and to witness Dixie Dean achieve the record and at the final whistle the crowd invaded the pitch which was a very unusual occurrence in those days

Dixie said that he “was surrounded by faces on the park,” rubbing their whiskers and chins and cheering and back-slapping. They came on that time because they’d seen it and that was that. I slipped off a couple of minutes later and didn’t come back on again till the following season – except to collect the championship trophy. And the Arsenal players were among the first to congratulate me – the goalkeeper first of all. Everyone except Charlie Buchan who seemed to feel I’d stolen his thunder in his last match. He was a very proud man was Charlie.”

Arsenal played a prominent role in Dixie’s career, he made his Everton debut against the Gunners at Highbury in a defeat for Everton (2-1) in March 1925 and he scored his final Everton goal against them at Goodison Park on the opening day of the 1937/38 campaign, but his goal was a mere consolation as Everton (1-4) succumbed to the visitors to the annoyance of the Evertonians in the 53,586 crowd. Dixie made 21 appearances against the Gunners scoring thirteen times and his only hat-trick against them was perhaps the most famous hat-trick of his or any other Everton player’s career

It was in the 1930s that the Arsenal really reached their pre-war peak. Under the guidance of their legendary Manager, Herbert Chapman, who was successfully succeeded by Mr. George Allison and then Mr. Tom Whittaker, the team won seven First Division Championships five in the 1930s including three successive titles between 1933 and 1935, one in 1948 and another in 1953. The Gunners had also won the FA Cup three times and were runners-up in that competition on three occasions.

The outcome of the matches between the two sides at Goodison prior to WW2 resulted in twelve wins for Everton, ten for Arsenal and six draws with Everton scoring on 44 occasions and Arsenal on 42.

On Everton’s return to the top-flight in 1954, Arsenal had the honour of being the first visitors to Goodison Park and a huge crowd turned up at the Grand Old Lady to witness the game. Tommy Eglington scored the winning goal for the Blues and the Daily Post headline read

“One goal, but what a goal” the newspaper went on to describe the goal “Donovan began the move carried through with such inevitability that one sensed a great goal before the ball sped finally from the head of Eglington into the net. “Hickson’s flick of the ball was a touch of genius; that Eglington anticipated it to make the glorious final move in a lovely round of passing was equally out of this world.”

Tommy Eglington speaking about the goal some 40 years later recalled that “The goal attracted a lot of publicity because it involved a long passing movement before the pass came over from the right. I think most of the Everton lads were involved in the build-up and I rounded it off by stepping in between two defenders.”

A goal that the Evertonians among the crowd of 69,134 would have relished and talked about for many a year to come but spare a thought for those Evertonians who didn’t make it into the ground as the Daily Post reported the following day on its front-page:

“Extraordinary scenes outside Goodison Park marked Everton’s first home game since their re-entry to the First Division last night when an estimated 10,000 supporters were turned away. “Gates were closed more than 10 minutes before the 6:30pm Kick-off and many of those who did get inside left long before the game was over. They claimed they could not see the game in which Everton beat Arsenal 1-0. “

Eighty police were on duty dealing with crowds who began forming queues shortly after three o’clock. At 6:30pm Goodison Road from the junction with City Road to Eton Street, was packed with struggling people going in both directions….”

Obviously the numbers of people hadn’t been grossly exaggerated as the home match with Burnley on the following Saturday at Goodison Park, saw 76,969 spectators crammed into the stadium to witness Cyril Lello grab a late winning goal for the Toffees.

One fixture between Everton and Arsenal from the 1950s stands out for Bill Kenwright the Everton owner as it was his first sojourn to Goodison Park and his beloved ‘Boys Pen’.

The match took place on 27 October 1956, thirty-three years prior to Mr Kenwright taking up his position as a director of the club. Everton beat Arsenal (4-0) with the Everton scorers being Wally Fielding, Peter Farrell, George Kirby and TE Jones (pen) a result that lifted Everton up two places to sixteenth in the division and they ended the season in fifteenth place.

Everton had the better of the encounters at Goodison Park against Arsenal for the next few seasons until in 1958 Arsenal beat the Toffees (1-6) in the match played on 06 September a shock defeat for the Everton faithful but they needn’t have worried too much because it would be over twenty years until Arsenal would leave Goodison Park with maximum points.

In fact throughout the 1960s and 1970s Everton looked forward to facing Arsenal on home soil as they won 14 of the 20 League games played at home drawing the remaining six.

Remarkably only two Everton players had scored hat-tricks against the Gunners the first player to do so had as has been stated been Dixie Dean and the other player to do it had been Roy Vernon in the match played in April 1961 at Goodison Park. This match with Arsenal was also officially the first game of Manager Harry Catterick’s reign at Goodison Park – although some records show that the previous game at Hillsborough was the first game of Catterick’s tenure.

Roy had scored twice in the first-half and Alex Young had added another, while David Herd had pulled a goal back for Arsenal. In the dying embers of the game Everton were awarded a penalty and Roy Vernon (89’) converted his opportunity to complete his hat-trick and join the immortal Dixie Dean in Everton’s record books. Everton: Dunlop; Parker, Thomson, Gabriel, Labone; Meagan, Temple, Collins; Young, Vernon, Fell.

The following September Arsenal made the trip to Merseyside and the game ended with the same scoreline as in April. Bobby Collins and Roy Vernon both returned to the Everton side after being absent for a few games due to injury, Harry Catterick was pleased to have their experience and talent back in the side as his team had only garnered eight points from the ten matches played since the start of the campaign. Roy Vernon marked his comeback with a brace of goals and Billy Bingham and Jimmy Gabriel added to the score. M Charles grabbed a consolation for the visitors as the Toffees moved up six places in the table and Arsenal were left one place above the relegation places. Everton: Dunlop; Parker, Thomson; Gabriel, Labone, Harris; Bingham, Collins, Young, Vernon, Fell

In 1970 Everton as the potential champions took on the Gunners at Goodison on St. Valentine’s Day as Arsenal were struggling for form in the bottom half of the table, but it was Arsenal who struck the first blow after only two minutes of the game when Charlie George (2’) opened the scoring. Alan Whittle (9’) equalised just seven minutes later to calm the nerves of the home crowd but eleven minutes before half-time John Radford (34’) put the visitors back in front. Arsenal held onto their lead until twenty minutes from the end of the match when Alan Whittle (70’) equalised yet again for the Toffees to earn a hard-won point on the way to the Toffees seventh League title which put them level with Arsenal, Man U and Liverpool in the all-time list of First Division champions. Arsenal finished half-way down the league a full twenty-four points behind the Toffees, although the Gunners did have the considerable consolation of winning their first European trophy when they beat Anderlecht (4-3) on aggregate in the Fairs Cup final. Everton: West; Wright, Newton K; Kendall, Labone, Harvey; Husband, Whittle, Royle, Hurst, Morrissey

At the beginning of the next campaign the Champions and Charity Shield holders Everton took on Fairs Cup holders, Arsenal at Goodison in the opening game of the season and this time it was Everton who got the first goal when Joe Royle (28’) put the Blues ahead.

Charlie George (71’) equalised for the visitors. The game remained level until six minutes from time when Johnny Morrissey (84’) appeared to have won both of the points for the home team however with just three minutes remaining George Graham (87’) scored the equaliser to earn the visitors a hard-won point. At season’s end Arsenal celebrated their eighth title win and completed the ‘double’ by beating Liverpool (2-1,aet) at Wembley in the FA Cup final. Everton: West; Wright, Newton K; Kendall, Labone, Harvey; Whittle, Ball, Royle, Hurst, Morrissey

Arsenal came a cropper at Goodison the next season when on 18 September 1971 despite a John Hurst own goal, Everton beat the Champions and FA Cup holders Arsenal (2-1) thanks to goals by Joe Royle and David Johnson. Everton: West; Scott, Newton K; Newton H, Kenyon, Darracott; Royle, Kenny, Johnson, Hurst, Whittle

Bob Latchford is one of the few Everton players in the modern era to breach the Gunners defence more than once at Goodison Park and he achieved that feat on 31 August 1974 when he struck twice for the Toffees in their win over Arsenal (2-1), Brian Kidd scored Arsenal’s consolation goal. Everton: Lawson; Darracott, Seargent; Clements, Kenyon, Hurst; Buckley, Dobson, Royle, Latchford, Connolly

New Year’s Eve 1977 also saw Everton triumph over Arsenal (2-0) at Goodison when goals from Bob Latchford (16’) and Andy King (76’) were enough to earn the points for the home team. Everton: Wood; Darracott, Pejic; Lyons, Kenyon, Ross; King, Dobson, Latchford, Mckenzie, Thomas

Everton’s last victory of their long unbeaten run against Arsenal at Goodison came when Dave Thomas (48’) scored the only goal of the game in August 1978 to earn the points for the Toffees. Everton: Wood; Darracott, Pejic; Lyons, Wright, Nulty; King, Dobson, Latchford, Walsh, Thomas

Arsenal won the next game in the series on Friday 28 March 1980 when Steve Gatting (62’) scored Arsenal’s winner on the hour mark. Everton: Hodge; Gidman, Bailey; Wright, Lyons, Eastoe; Megson, King, Latchford, Hartford, McBride

Everton did manage to overcome Arsenal (2-0) in the FA Cup third round match in January 1981 when Mike Lyons (90’)added to the own goal scored by Kenny Samson (85’) to end the Gunners’ dreams of a fourth consecutive FA Cup final appearance. Everton: McDonagh; Gidman, Bailey; Wright, Ratcliffe, Ross; McMahon, Eastoe, Varadi, Hartford, McBride

Arsenal gained revenge for that FA Cup defeat when they returned to Goodison the following week for a First Division fixture. Eamonn O’Keefe (54’) put the Blues in the lead early in the second period but late goals from Steve Gatting (76') and Paul Vaessen (90') won the points for the visitors. Everton: McDonagh; Gidman, Bailey; Wright, Ratcliffe, Ross; McMahon, Eastoe, Varadi, Hartford, O'Keefe

Following Arsenal’s victory at Goodison in 1981 the teams were both more or less equally successful in their matches at Goodison, until in November 1985 the defending Champions, Everton, recorded their highest victory over Arsenal at Goodison Park since they had beaten the Gunners (5-0) in the FA Cup in 1910,

Neil Pointon had made his debut and Gary Lineker (19’) had opened the scoring for the Blues. Gary Lineker (38’) added another goal to give the Blues a two goal cushion at the break. Charlie Nicolas (46’) pulled a goal back for Arsenal, but Adrian Heath (50’) restored Everton’s two goal advantage. Trevor Steven (62’) put the game beyond the Gunners from the penalty spot while Adrian Heath (80’) and Graeme Sharp (84’) added lustre to the scoreline as a rampant Everton ran out worthy winners. As had been hoped for in the pre-match article in the Matchday magazine Everton surpassed the 100 League goal mark at Goodison against Arsenal with Gary Lineker having the honour of notching the 100th goal for Everton when he opened the scoring in this match. Everton: Southall; Harper, Pointon, Ratcliffe, Stevens; Heath, Steven, Bracewell; Lineker, Sharp, Sheedy.

Everton’s home record against the Gunners had been a mixed bag since they had beaten Arsenal (6-1), as the Blues had lost four consecutive fixtures, including the semi-final of the League Cup. That losing streak had ended when Arsenal had arrived at Goodison as reigning Champions on 21 October 1989.

Coincidentally it was this match that saw Mr Bill Kenwright take-up his seat in the Directors Box as a newly appointed member of the Board. In an interview with the matchday magazine Bill relates how he very nearly emigrated to the USA but Mr Philip Carter the Everton Chairman invited him to join the board. Mr Kenwright said “I certainly wouldn’t have accepted the invitation to join the Board if I had felt unable to make a full contribution. To be honest, I’m not a committee-man type, never have been, but this is one job I couldn’t turn down.”

Pat Nevin (39’, 82’) had been the man of the moment as he grabbed two goals and Neil McDonald (78’) scored the other in a three goals to nil victory for the Blues, to send the majority of the 32,917 people in the ground home happy with their team’s performance. Everton: Southall; Ebbrell, McDonald, Keown, Watson; Whiteside, Nevin, McCall; Newell, Cottee, Sheedy. Unused Subs: Sharp, Atteveld.

Everton’s final Football League victory over Arsenal at Goodison Park came in the first home game of the 1991-92 campaign. On 20 August 1991 Peter Beardsley made his Goodison bow and I’m led to believe it was the first time in a top-flight match that the Gwladys Street was used as an all-seated area. The reigning Champions Arsenal (3-1) were despatched in style as Mark Ward (45’) gave Everton a half-time lead and Tony Cottee (61’) doubled the Toffees advantage on the hour mark. Mark Ward (71’) added a third before Nigel Winterbourne (87’) grabbed a late consolation for the Gunners. Two players with Goodison and Highbury connections Anders Limpar (Arsenal) and Martin Keown (Everton) faced each other on that day. Everton: Southall; Harper, Ebbrell; Ratcliffe, Watson, Keown; Warzycha, Sheedy, Beardsley, Cottee, Ward (Nevin)

During the Premier League era the two sides have played each other on 22 occasions at Goodison Park and the Toffees have won just five of those Premier League encounters with Arsenal leaving Merseyside with maximum points on ten occasions, the other seven games have ended in draws.

It is a period that Arsene Wenger’s team have broken many club records on all fronts as they became one of the most successful clubs in the country and Europe and arguably not since the 1930s has there been such a wide gap between Arsenal and Everton both in terms of the outcomes of the matches between the teams but also in terms of the honours won by the respective clubs.

Everton’s first victory in the Premier League era against Arsenal at Goodison Park arrived -after a wait of some eight years - on Saturday, 18 November, 2000 and the BBC website reported that:

Arsenal suffered their first ever Premiership defeat at Goodison as Danny Cadamarteri and Kevin Campbell struck to seal victory for Everton. Although neither team were at their best, Everton were slightly less poor than the visitors and deserved a win which leaves the Gunners five points behind Premiership leaders Manchester United. The goals came in the second half with Cadamarteri netting his first of the season nine minutes after the break. Former Arsenal striker Campbell then sealed victory with 73 minutes gone and the visitors had no response.

It was always likely that, with so many players from both sides out through injury, the match would lack cohesion and fluidity. The first 45 minutes passed almost without incident as both teams struggled to create any opportunities. Everton had begun the brighter, taking advantage of Arsenal's weakened midfield and dominating the midfield in the early stages. But it was Arsenal who came closest to opening the scoring, when they broke for their first attack, after seven minutes.

A succession of blocks and rebounds led to Everton defender Gary Naysmith making an excellent goal-saving header from Freddie Ljungberg's shot. When Kanu blocked an attempted clearance the ball fell into the path of Wiltord, whose shot was smothered by goalkeeper Paul Gerrard. The rebound fell to Ljungberg on the edge of the penalty area and the Swedish international's volley took a deflection and was headed for the top corner. Naysmith managed to get his head to the ball, nodding it onto the crossbar and out. It proved to be the only real goalmouth action of the half as the game failed to ignite.

After the restart Everton looked more purposeful and Kevin Campbell should have opened the scoring when the ball dropped to him in the box. But he blazed his volley over the bar from just six yards. Arsenal continued to pass the ball around, but were not looking threatening without Patrick Vieira in midfield and Thierry Henry up front. Everton were content to allow Arsenal possession and hit them on the break, and their tactics bore fruit.

On 54 minutes Cadamarteri got behind Ashley Cole, chested the ball down and slotted the ball past Alex Manninger. The scorer was also involved in Everton's second goal, sliding the ball to Campbell who smashed the ball into the roof of the net. Arsenal were unimaginative in their response, demonstrating perhaps how they have come to rely upon the prolific Henry to maintain their title challenge.

Everton: Gerrard, Weir, Campbell, Hughes, Pembridge, Ball, Naysmith, Gemmill, Cleland, Cadamarteri, Tal. Subs: Simonsen, Moore, McLeod, Clarke, Osman.

Arsenal: Manninger, Dixon, Keown, Pires, Ljungberg, Bergkamp, Wiltord, Parlour, Luzhny, Kanu, Cole. Subs: Stepanovs, Upson, Lukic, Wreh, Vernazza.

If William Ralph Dean’s hat-trick against the Gunners in 1928 is regarded as the most celebrated three goal haul by an Everton player at Goodison then Wayne Rooney’s late strike could arguably be regarded as the most famous goal ever scored by an Everton teenager on the famous old ground.

Arsenal had arrived at Goodison Park on 19 October 2002 unbeaten in 30 Premier League matches and the Gunners were very confident of continuing the modern-day trend of picking up maximum points at one of their favourite away venues but as the BBC reports the soccer gods had different ideas.

Everton's 16-year-old striker Wayne Rooney produced a moment of brilliance in the last minute to end Arsenal's 30-game unbeaten run in the Premiership. Rooney came off the bench to score his first ever Premiership goal and inflict Arsenal's first away defeat in 24 league matches.

Freddie Ljungberg had put Arsenal ahead as the Gunners netted for the 49th consecutive match, only for Tomasz Radzinski to equalise a quarter of an hour later.

Arsenal keeper David Seaman's week ended in misery as he was once again beaten by a long-range effort. His only consolation was that the quality of Rooney's strike was of the highest order.

Seaman had wanted to put his England nightmare behind him and it seemed the fans had forgiven his midweek blunder against Macedonia. The 39-year-old may have hoped for a good reception from the travelling Gunners' fans but would not have imagined that Everton's faithful would join the ovation.

However, the universal show of support before the game did little to boost the veteran's confidence as the Toffees tried to exploit Seaman's high-ball weakness almost from the kick-off. Mark Pembridge swung in the home side's first corner and, though the Welshman did not find the net as Artim Sakiri had done, Seaman flapped and missed his punch.

Seaman looked more comfortable when, late in the half, he tipped a fierce Thomas Gravesen drive over the bar to show not everything goalbound gets past him. And an excellent second-half save from Gravesen's low strike further demonstrated Seaman's shot-stopping ability remains intact.

Arsenal's unbeaten run also looked set to remain intact after they took the lead through Ljungberg with just seven minutes gone. David Unsworth should have cleared after Nigerian striker Kanu, playing in place of the injured Dennis Bergkamp, miscontrolled in the penalty area. But the ball squirmed free, allowing Ljungberg to score on his 100th league appearance for the Gunners.

Lee Carsley's shot struck the Arsenal post and the ball rebounded to Radzinski who jinked his way past two defenders before slotting home a deserved equaliser. Arsenal had chances to clinch the match but Thierry Henry screwed wide, Sylvain Wiltord hit the post and Ljungberg chipped off target.

The visitors could not find the breakthrough and were made to pay in spectacular style when Rooney unleashed his historic late strike.

Everton: Wright, Hibbert, Yobo, Weir, Unsworth, Carsley (Stubbs 90), Gravesen, Tie Li (Linderoth 55), Pembridge, Radzinski (Rooney 80), Campbell.
Subs Not Used: Alexandersson, Gerrard. Booked: Weir, Pembridge, and Linderoth.

Arsenal: Seaman, Lauren, Campbell, Cygan, Cole, Ljungberg (Edu 85), Silva, Vieira, Toure (Wiltord 64), Henry, Kanu (Jeffers 71).
Subs Not Used: Luzhny, Shaaban. Booked: Edu.

Attendance: 39,038 Referee: U Rennie (S Yorkshire).

Everton’s other victories over Arsenal at Goodison in the Premier League era included the last gasp winning goal scored by Andrew Johnston in 2007and James Beattie’s winning goal in 2006.

On Saturday, 21 January 2006 James Beattie's (13’) early strike continued Everton's revival and condemned Arsenal to another disappointing away defeat. Beattie raced on to Tim Cahill's pass to beat Jens Lehmann in the 13th minute to give David Moyes' side a fourth successive Premiership victory. Arsenal’s Cesc Fabregas earned his marching orders late in the game after an incident with Tim Cahill.

Everton manager David Moyes:"It was a really, really top performance by the players. It's been coming. "We had chances. Got round them and probably limited them to not too many opportunities. "I think the players we have got are coming into the form we thought they had. Confidence is high and things are looking a lot more rosy."

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger: "We lost a difficult game in a frustrating way because it was mainly a physical battle. "In the second half we were on top of the game but we didn't create enough. "Away from home we have a problem. We always lose 1-0 and we need to find a response by the end of the season to finish in the top four."

Everton: Martyn, Hibbert, Ferrari (Stubbs), Weir, Nuno Valente, Osman, Neville, Arteta (Ferguson), Kilbane, Cahill, Beattie. Subs: Wright, Naysmith, McFadden.

Arsenal: Lehmann, Gilbert (Hleb), Campbell, Senderos, Lauren, Ljungberg, Silva, Fabregas, Pires (Diaby), Henry, Reyes. Unused Subs: Almunia Flamini, Djourou.

Referee: A Wiley (Staffordshire) Att:36,920

On Sunday, 18 March 2007 Andrew Johnson (90’) rounded off a determined Everton performance when he angled a shot past Lehmann after Arsenal failed to clear a corner.

Everton manager David Moyes:"That is four points we have taken from Arsenal this season and hopefully that shows sign of progress. "I think we deserved to win and credit goes to the players. Our keeper had to make saves and fortune favoured us. "This a terrific group of lads. It's going to be tough for the rest of the season but hopefully we'll give our supporters something to shout about."

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger: "We had opportunities but we didn't use them. At the moment we're not taking our chances. "The final ball in our counter-attacks also wasn't good enough and when you don't score then you can be caught out. "It's very cruel and hard to take as we have conceded late goals three times this month."

Everton: Howard, Neville, Yobo, Stubbs, Lescott, Osman, Carsley, Fernandes, Arteta, Johnson, Vaughan (Anichebe 86). Subs Not Used: Wright, Hibbert, Naysmith, Beattie.
Booked: Stubbs, Fernandes, Lescott, Vaughan, Johnson, Anichebe

Arsenal: Lehmann, Toure, Silva, Gallas, Hoyte, Ljungberg, Fabregas, Diaby, Rosicky (Hleb 69), Julio Baptista (Denilson 85), Aliadiere (Walcott 75).
Subs Not Used: Almunia, Senderos. Att: 37,162 Ref: M Clattenburg (Co Durham).

The Last Time: Sunday, 6 April, 2014, 13:30 Everton 3-0 Arsenal report from BBC website

Everton took a step closer to fulfilling Roberto Martinez's pre-season promise of Champions League football as they swept past Arsenal to move a point behind the fourth-placed Gunners. Martinez's team produced a devastating display of attacking force, Steven Naismith opening the scoring by tucking in a 14th-minute opener after Romelu Lukaku's shot was saved.

The Gunners have taken 13 points from a possible 36 in their games against the current Premier League top seven this season. They have won just three of their last 11 league matches Substitute Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain hit the bar late on for the Gunners but where Arsenal's attacks dithered, Everton's forwards were powerful and precise, a reflection of the positive mentality Martinez has instilled in his first season in charge. The hosts were assisted by an enforced early substitution when Barkley came on to replace the injured Leon Osman, who suffered concussion and needed five stitches in his face after a foul on Bacary Sagna for which the Everton man was booked.

England international Barkley slotted into the number 10 position, as Lukaku moved to the right. And the switch shaped a first half in which Everton laid the foundations for their sixth successive victory.

Full-back Leighton Baines had already found Naismith in space once before the opener, and when he picked out Lukaku soon after, Wojciech Szczesny's save was to no avail as the onrushing Naismith converted from the rebound.

The Scotland international - promoted to the starting XI after coming on to score in Everton's 3-1 win at Fulham last weekend - moved into a more advanced role after Barkley's introduction, as the hosts continued to bear down on Arsenal's goal.

The visitors were limited to a trio of efforts from Lukas Podolski in the first half and their keeper Szczesny found himself far busier than Everton counterpart Tim Howard - the Pole had already made two fine stops from Mirallas and Barkley before the hosts extended their lead.

The ball was swept out to Lukaku on the right and he steamrollered his way towards the Arsenal penalty area before unleashing an unstoppable shot into the far corner.

The visitors belatedly applied some pressure of their own early in the second half as Nacho Monreal fired across goal, while Aaron Ramsey looked bright on his first appearance since Boxing Day.

But with little serious sign of a comeback, Everton sealed the win with a goal for which Mirallas deserved the credit. The Belgian dispossessed Sagna, raced forward and, after Naismith was thwarted by Szczesny, followed up to pressure Arteta into an own goal, completing a miserable day for the Spaniard against his former team.

With an easier-looking run-in than their hosts, Arsenal boss Wenger will hope his side can recover from this latest setback - and that Everton do not show form as impressive as this against the likes of title contenders Manchester City.

Everton: 24 Howard 23Coleman 03Baines18 Barry26 Stones15 Distin14 Naismith (McGeady) 16 McCarthy17 Lukaku (Deulofeu) 21 Osman Booked (Barkley) 11 Mirallas

Arsenal: 01 Szczesny 03 Sagna 17 Monreal 08 Arteta Booked 04 Mertesacker 05 Vermaelen 19 Cazorla 20 Flamini Booked (Ramsey) 12 Giroud (Sanogo) 07 Rosicky 09 Podolski (Oxlade-Chamberlain )

Ref: Martin Atkinson Att: 39,504

Everton versus Arsenal @Goodison Top Flight games only
PL W D L GF GA
93 39 25 29 134 119

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