Premier League 2018-19, Arsenal vs Everton: Preview

Arsenal face Everton on Sunday afternoon in one of this weekend's more interesting Premier League ties. The Gunners have had a solid if unspectacular start under new boss Unai Emery but will have to claim victory in this match or else questions will be asked regarding the Turk. Everton also have a new manager this campaign in the form of Marco Silva, and similarly struggled to impress the club's fans, picking up just the solitary win so far in the league.

Both new men in charge have a lot to prove but have time to do it in, although this game will be a good yardstick to see if the North London club are shoe-ins for a top 6 position come May.

Previous Matches

Arsenal 4-2 Vorskla (Europa League)

Arsenal dispatched of Ukrainian side Vorskla on Thursday.

Arsenal got their European campaign off to the perfect start by beating Vorskla at The Emirates on Thursday. It took over half an hour but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang opened the scoring for the home side and it remained 1-0 at half-time. Danny Welbeck, Mesut Ozil and Aubameyang once more finished the game as a contest in the second period, 4-0 with 15 minutes of normal time remaining. In truth, the Ukrainian side lacked the quality to challenge Arsenal on their home turf but showed excellent character to score a pair of goals via Chesanakov and Sharpar before the final whistle.

Emery's men now top Group E and should remain there during the group stages, Sporting Lisbon being the only viable challenger to their supremacy.

Everton 1-3 West Ham United (Premier League)

Everton suffered their first loss of the season at the hands of West Ham last week

One of the surprise results of the previous match day was West Ham United claiming their first win of the season away at Goodison Park. The Hammers hadn't even picked up a point under new manager Manuel Pellegrini but got all three as Everton suffered a severe off-day. The Toffees were unbeaten going into that game, but Andriy Yarmolenko scored a brace in the opening 30 minutes for The Irons as he became the first Ukrainian to score in the English top flight since Liverpool's Voronin a decade earlier. Gylfi Sigurdsson halved the deficit on the brink of half-time but Marko Arnautovic ended hopes of an Everton comeback in the second period.

This was Everton's first loss of the season and, after the home draw against Huddersfield, this has the Goodison faithful nervous for the immediate future.

Predicted Lineups

Arsenal

Predicted Arsenal lineup v Everton

After making eight changes for the Europa League tie, Emery will likely recall the regular players for this match. I've gone with the same starting XI which beat Newcastle United in Arsenal's previous Premier League game. Bernd Leno got his first minutes in an Arsenal shirt in goal and the German could make a start, especially considering Petr Cech's documented distribution woes. However, I believe Emery will stick with the Czech stopper, for now, as if he was going to get dropped, it would've already happened.

Elsewhere, Lucas Torreira is a doubt after picking up a knock in Thursday's game, while Koscielny, Kolasinac, Maitland-Niles and Jenkinson remain out of contention due to injury problems.

Everton

Predicted Everton Lineup v Arsenal

Everton fans will be feeling more optimistic as Richarlison is available after serving his suspension. The youngster made an excellent start to life at Goodison Park and his return to action will boost The Toffee's chances of a good result on Sunday. Club Captain, Phil Jagielka, still has a ways to go in his recovery and likely won't feature, Andre Gomes and Seamus Coleman join him on the injury list.

Yerry Mina is in line to make his debut on Sunday after recovering from an injury and I believe the Colombian will start in place of Mason Holgate at the back.

Key Player: Richarlison

Attacker Richarlison will be key to any Everton success on Sunday

Arsenal have a wealth of attacking options, and while Everton's front line is certainly impressive, they don't possess the myriad of options as Arsenal do. The Toffee's recent slump can be attributed to the suspension of Richarlison. Some doubted that the Brazilian youngster would be worth the £50m transfer fee but the start to his time on Merseyside has been nothing short of superb. Richarlison is an attacker that no defender will look forward to facing, and whether he's scoring goals himself or assisting, he will be key to beating Petr Cech in goal.

The North Londoners' defence will have to be on top form to keep out this tricky winger on Sunday.

Emery Laying Down a Marker

Arsenal sat in 7th place before the start of play this weekend.

Being the successor to a manager who is a legend at a club isn't an enviable task, just ask David Moyes. Unai Emery is the first Arsenal manager since Arsene Wenger's departure from Arsenal and has enjoyed a solid, if unspectacular, start to life at The Emirates. The Turkish manager has won every match as Gunners boss since the opening two defeats against Manchester City and Chelsea but Everton offers a very different challenge. Arsenal are expected to win against The Toffees and the visitors are capable of producing an upset on their day.

A convincing win will ease nerves in North London but even a narrow victory will do little to appease the sections of the Arsenal fanbase unhappy with the club hierarchy.

Prediction: Arsenal 3-1 Everton

Arsenal haven't lost at home against Everton since 1996 and I don't see that changing on Sunday. The gap between the top 6 and the other Premier League teams is a yawning chasm, and Emery will make it perfectly clear that this is a game where the Gunners cannot slip up.

Everton's make-shift defence will have a hard afternoon to keep out Ozil, Lacazette and Aubameyang and I don't think they'll keep a clean sheet. The Toffees can cause damage, though, especially with Richarlison back in the lineup, I can see them getting a single goal, but more than that is hard to imagine. All in all, it should be 5 wins in a row for The Gunners.