Arsenal Stifle Everton With Trademark Grit as the 'Boring, Boring' Gunners Make Their Triumphant Return

Arsenal made a triumphant return to Premier League action with a 2–0 victory against Everton, drawing level with table-toppers Manchester City, who suffered a shock defeat to Aston Villa earlier that afternoon.

Any fears of a Champions League hangover — just three days after an epic clash in Munich — were quickly put to rest when Ezri Konsa bundled the ball home from a corner. Everton had initially kept the danger at bay, with Ben White and Gabriel both challenging the in-swinging delivery at the near post. However, Konsa was perfectly positioned at the far post to poke the ball over the line from barely a yard out.

Everton responded admirably to going behind, and back-to-back chances from Tyrique George and Thierno Barry could well have earned them an equalizer on a different occasion. Arsenal were indebted to some last-ditch defending on both occasions.

The Gunners created chances of their own, with Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze failing to impress in their auditions to fill the void left by Bukayo Saka's latest injury. James Tarkowski was a constant obstacle at the heart of Everton's defense, while Jordan Pickford was rarely called into serious action. The Toffees should have been level at the break when White's attempted back-pass to David Raya was intercepted by Barry, requiring a fine stop from the Arsenal keeper to avoid a deeply embarrassing concession.

With open-play creativity at a premium after the restart, Arsenal resorted to suffocating Everton through ball retention. That approach denied the Toffees any foothold in the game and created the conditions for the champions to put the match to bed.

Gabriel, who had appeared close to being substituted while nursing a knock just over 10 minutes prior, proved to be the man in the right place at the right time, heading home White's cross from inside the six-yard box after Arsenal had patiently worked the ball into a dangerous position.

Everton had a late opportunity to make things interesting when Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall headed a chance wide of Raya's post in the final 10 minutes.

One Thing We Can't Ignore

Konsa netted his first goal for the Gunners since his summer arrival from Aston Villa. But perhaps more significantly, this was Arsenal's first set-piece goal of the current campaign, a return to a well-established formula.

Arteta's side scored 35 goals from set pieces across all competitions in 2025–26, representing 29% of their total output. That reliance on dead-ball situations has been notably absent so far in 2026–27, though this match highlighted just how much they were struggling to create meaningful chances through open play.

In the first half alone, Arsenal bombarded the Everton box with 10 corners, yet sent nearly all of their 13 attempts on goal off target.

Gabriel's second goal wasn't a direct set-piece strike, but it may as well have been. Everton partially cleared an initial corner delivered by Declan Rice, with the ball recycled and shifted across the pitch. By the time White clipped a ball toward the far post, 28 seconds had passed since the original set piece, yet Gabriel had remained forward.

Ultimately, the manner of victory is secondary to the result itself. Arsenal demonstrated here that even a below-par display can still yield a comfortable three points.

Arsenal Player Ratings vs. Everton (4-2-3-1)

*Ratings provided by FotMob*

GK: David Raya—7.7: Bailed his side out with a vital stop at the end of the first half. The complexion of the game could have changed dramatically had the score been leveled at 1–1.

RB: Ben White—8.1: His misplaced pass back to Raya nearly proved disastrous. He more than atoned for it, however, with involvement in the opening goal and the assist that sealed the win.

CB: Ezri Konsa—8.0: Giving Arteta every incentive to retain him as William Saliba edges closer to full fitness. Rarely troubled defensively and capped his display with a goal.

CB: Gabriel—8.5: There was real anxiety about the Brazilian early in the second half after he appeared to injure his knee, but he pushed through and delivered the decisive second goal.

LB: Myles Lewis-Skelly—7.6: Stepped in for the rested Riccardo Calafiori to make his first Premier League start of the season at left back. Solid defensively, though he picked up an unnecessary yellow card.

CM: Declan Rice—7.9: A characteristically energetic and industrious performance.

CM: Mikel Merino—6.1: Attempted five shots, with four blocked and the fifth well off target.

RM: Noni Madueke—6.6: Must show more if he is to convincingly fill Saka's boots for what could be the next two months. Showed flashes of promise but lacked a consistent end product.

AM: Martin Ødegaard—7.5: Covered more ground than any other player on the pitch and was instrumental in dictating the tempo as Arsenal looked to shut Everton out in the second half.

LM: Eberechi Eze—6.8: Plenty of touches in promising areas, but failed to make the impact his positioning warranted.

ST: Viktor Gyökeres—7.5: Picks up an assist from the scramble as Konsa turned the ball in. Created a handful of opportunities for teammates but saw limited action and never truly threatened to score himself.

SUB: Bruno Guimarães (68' for Merino)—6.5

SUB: Riccardo Calafiori (68' for Lewis-Skelly)—6.5

SUB: Kai Havertz (68' for Gyökeres)—6.4

SUB: Martín Zubimendi (80' for Rice)—6.0

SUB: Max Dowman (80' for Eze)—6.1

Subs not used: Kepa Arrizabalaga (GK), Cristhian Mosquera, Jurriën Timber, Piero Hincapié.

What the Ratings Tell Us

The Numbers That Explain Arsenal's Important Win