Everton 2-1 Arsenal: 5 talking points as Demarai Gray stunner downs Gunners | Premier League 2021-22

Everton beat Arsenal 2-1 at Goodison Park in a thrilling Premier League game on Monday night.

Demarai Gray struck an amazing goal in the 92nd minute to win it for The Toffees after Richarlison had cancelled out Martin Odegaard's first-half opener. The Gunners had more possession, and mustered more shots, but failed to make their dominance count on the night.

The Toffees, hit by two VAR calls in the game, showed immense fighting spirit as they ended their eight-game winless run in the league. In the process, they registered three consecutive Premier League wins over Arsenal for the first time.

Following consecutive defeats, Arsenal are now seventh in the standings, falling behind Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United once again. Meanwhile, Everton are up to 12th.

On that note, here are the five major talking points from the game:

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#5 Everton are mentality monsters

Everton were rewarded for their fighting spirit.

Everton have been far from impressive so far this season. They are languishing in 12th place in the league table, with just five wins from 15 games.

However, there have been moments where The Toffees have stunned everyone, such as fighting back from a deficit to clinch all three points. In fact, they've won ten points in the league from losing positions so far, more than any other team in the English top flight this season.

It was the third time Everton fell behind only to eventually win. They also managed to do so against Southampton and Burnley, and held Manchester United to a draw.

It shows that on their day the Merseyside outfit can be tough to beat, but it's their lack of consistency that explains their struggles and lowly ranking.

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#4 Mikel Arteta makes head-scratching calls for Arsenal

To say Arteta's substitutions were odd would be an understatement.

Arsenal once again lacked the aura that saw them turn their fortunes around after an underwhelming start to the season. However, head coach Mikel Arteta also contributed to the result with some poor calls.

Kieran Tierney had an excellent game, but he was taken off after the hour mark. Meanwhile, Gabriel Martinelli was replaced by Eddie Nketiah despite having both Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Nicolas Pepe on the bench.

Moreover, the Gabonese striker was subbed on as late as the 85th minute, when the scoreline was 1-1. It makes one wonder why he wasn't brought on earlier when the Gunners led on the night.

#3 Richarlison gets third time lucky

Richarlison saw two goals ruled out before scoring/

Nothing seemed to be going to plan for Everton's Richarlison against Arsenal. He saw two goals chalked off by VAR for offside in the build-up.

The Brazilian thought he headed Everton in front just before half-time, but he was marginally offside. Richarlison then saw a superb finish also ruled out,as the striker was millimetres ahead of the last Arsenal outfield player.

His frustration reached boiling point, but Richarlison didn't give up. He sparked Everton's comeback late on with a looping header off Gray's effort that had come off the crossbar. The hosts would go on to win on the night.

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#2 More injury concerns for Yerry Mina

No respite for Mina (right)

Yerry Mina started for Everton for the first time since their draw with Manchester United in October. However, he lasted barely half an hour before going off with another injury.

Since joining The Merseysiders from Barcelona in 2018, the Colombian centre-back has missed 30 games across eight injury spells. He is now likely set for another spell on the sidelines.

Mina's return last night was expected to restore normalcy, according to manager Rafael Benitez. Everton have conceded 1.33 goals with him in the side as compared to 2.28 without him.

Instead, the occasion turned into a nightmare for the star once again, whose injury woes just don't seem to have any end in sight.

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#1 Ben Godfrey escapes red against Arsenal

Godfrey (right) escaped a red card, in a huge let off for Everton.

The match saw VAR being called into question several times. While it got most of its decisions right, Ben Godfrey's stamp on Takehiro Tomiyasu has stoked controversy.

The Everton left-back stuck his boots into the Japanese international in the second half, in what seemed like a nasty challenge. However, the VAR somehow didn't find it a red card-worthy offence.

It may not have been malicious, with Godfrey turning in that moment and losing his bearings before making the challenge, but was it nasty? Definitely, and such incidents often result in players getting sent off.