Last gasp Gunners again

Everton 2-2 Arsenal

It took another last gasp goal on Saturday evening to save Arsenal’s blushes once more as the Gunners came back from two goals down against Everton to secure an unlikely draw in the closing seven minutes of the game.

With Yaya Sanogo out injured and Giroud lacking full match fitness, Arsene Wenger elected to start with new signing Alexis Sanchez upfront with Oxlade-Chamberlain deployed on the wing and Mesut Ozil, starting his first game since the World Cup final, on the opposite flank. Despite what has been reported in the media since, Arsenal actually started the game rather well. They took the game to their hosts with quick incisive passing and could even have taken the lead had Oxlade-Chamberlain had his shooting boots on.

The only problem for Arsenal was the final ball. The Gunners were reaching the final third with relative ease, but were unable to pick out that final pass to really open up the Everton defence. It was also clear that Sanchez is not yet on the same wavelength as his new teammates. The Chilean was uncertain at times as he struggled to read his colleagues’ intentions. As a result he was making runs that weren’t picked out, coming short when the ball was played long and vice versa. This is completely understandable given the fact there have been only a few opportunities for Sanchez to train with the full squad and is something that will come in time.

Although Arsenal were performing far better than they had done in their opening two games of the new season, many pundits have since suggested that Everton were in complete control of the game during the first half. Yet Szczesny had absolutely nothing to do apart from pick the ball out of his net. Everton, as Crystal Palace had done the week the before, scored with their first attempt at goal. A short free kick was played out wide to Leighton Baines, the left back’s first time pass found Gareth Barry just outside the box and Arsenal fell asleep. As soon as the ball was played to the English midfielder the Gunners should have pushed forward in an attempt to close down the space. As they did not do this, Barry had plenty of time to take a touch, look up and pick out a perfect cross for Seamus Coleman to head home, the Irishman having run off the back of Ozil who did not track his man.

Despite the setback, the Gunners continued to play their game but were hit with another sucker punch before half time. As an Arsenal attack broke down, Everton sought to hit them on the counter attack. The ball was played forward to Lukaku on the halfway line and as Mertesacker attempted to get in front of the Belgian to make an interception, Lukaku pushed the German in the back. It was a clear foul which the referee completely ignored and unfortunately the referee’s error was compounded by an Arsenal mistake as Callum Chambers showed his inexperience by diving into a tackle which Lukaku easily evaded to bear down on the Arsenal defence. Having seen Mertesacker taken out of the game, Chambers should have stayed on his feet and taken a few steps back towards his own goal, ensuring the Gunners had more numbers at the back and slowing down the Everton attack, enabling more of his teammates to get back. This should serve as a good lesson for Chambers, who has performed excellently so far but has also made a few mistakes which up to that point had gone unpunished.

Having evaded the challenge of Chambers, Lukaku picked out the run of Naismith, who drilled the ball under the advancing Szczesny to make the score 2-0. Replays showed the Scotsman had been in an offside position with the linesman in a perfect position to make the call. At this stage, memories of last season’s demolition at the same ground began to surface, but the Gunners stood firm in the face of adversity and refused to buckle.

Wenger made a move he rarely does as he decided to make a tactical substitution at halftime, replacing Sanchez with Giroud. The Frenchman provided Arsenal with more of a physical presence upfront and should have narrowed the deficit in the opening seconds of the second half, volleying over the bar with the goal at his mercy. Arsenal now had a focal point up front and as the game wore on the Gunners began to seize control of the game with Giroud again squandering a good chance, firing straight at Tim Howard in the Everton goal to the frustration of the Arsenal faithful.

As the clock ticked over to the 80^th minute, the game appeared to be over, but Wenger’s men refused to give up and kept pushing forward in search of a breakthrough which duly arrived in the 83^rd minute. Santi Cazorla’s low cross, fired across goal, caught the Everton defence on their heels allowing Ramsey to steel in and poke the ball home to make the score 2-1. Arsenal were now right back in the game but there was a feeling that they may have left it too late. Strangely, Everton were tiring and hanging on, while the Gunners, who had endured that long trip to Turkey in midweek, were coming on strong in the final minutes. Into the 90^th minute and Ramsey’s over hit cross was kept in by Monreal. The Spaniard looked up and delivered his own cross to Giroud, for the Frenchman to outmuscle Distin and power a header right into the corner of the net.

It was a great moment for Giroud, who had endured a relatively poor start to the season but had now answered his critics with a goal against one of the league’s top sides. Unfortunately for the Frenchman, he picked up an injury in the final stages of the game which could prove to be very serious indeed. There are rumours that he has fractured his ankle, an injury which would keep him on the side-lines for up to three months, leaving Arsenal extremely short up front. Wenger’s decision not to sign another proven striker now looks to have come back to haunt him. Sanogo is injured and even when fit is a raw talent at the moment, Joel Campbell only has a few minutes of Premier League experience under his belt, Sanchez is still trying to gain a cohesive understanding with his teammates and Podolski is rumoured to be leaving the club. Giroud’s injury coupled with Ramsey’s suspension, suddenly makes Wednesday’s Champions League qualifier all the more difficult as it is a struggle to see where goals could come from.