Everton vs. Arsenal: 6 Things Things We Learned at Goodison Park

Third place has never felt so nice. Not in the red half of North London, anyway.

Arsenal won again Wednesday, scoring early and holding on—thanks in part to a dodgy refereeing decision—for a 1-0 win over giant-slaying Everton at Goodison Park. No thanks to that guy in the picture, Aaron Ramsey, who spurned a hat-trick of chances during Arsenal's dominant early spell.

No matter, though. Bad finishing and all, that makes six straight league wins for Arsenal, and more importantly, third place in the league table. Ahead of Spurs.

That's right. After all the troubles of the season—and they've been many, from the massacre at Old Trafford to the meltdown at the San Siro to all the booing, all the transfer ineptitude and all the seemingly endless good results for Tottenham Hotspur—third place in the English Premier League now belongs to the top team in North London.

Few thought it possible even a month ago. But, of course, back then we were still arguing over whether Arsene Wenger had lost his touch.

It seems silly now, but that's a testament to how well Arsenal have played lately—and to the quality of Wenger's work.

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Some Managers Do Stick Around

Everton's David Moyes marked 10 years with the club recently. Arsene Wenger passed the 15-year mark last October.

Unless Sir Alex Ferguson is involved, you won't find an English Premier League match with two managers who have been at their clubs longer. If you ask me, the longevity is nice to see.

Moyes has been solid, if unspectacular at Everton on a tight budget. Wenger, whose budget has been tight by the standards of his competitors, has brought Arsenal unprecedented success.

On the other end of the managing spectrum, there are clubs like Chelsea, who…well, I won't go there now.

Wednesday's match was a tribute to managerial longevity, and that's something to celebrate.

Third Place Is Now Arsenal's to Lose

Not that anyone—not even Arsene Wenger—would have thought it possible as recently as a few weeks ago. But with nine matches left, here's your Premier League table.

One point is clearly not a stout advantage, but the trends certainly favor Arsenal. The winners of six-straight league matches, Arsenal needed just under two months to erase a 13-point deficit.

On Jan. 31, when Arsenal trailed Spurs by 13 points, they also trailed Chelsea by six and Liverpool by two. Newcastle had drawn level on points and Stoke were only six behind.

Now Arsenal lead Spurs by one point, Chelsea by six, Newcastle by eight and Liverpool by an astounding 13. On this form, Arsenal will run away with third place. And they got there by beating a team that had recently slayed Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham on home turf.

The only word that comes to mind right now is impressive.

He Scores When He Wants

Not Robin van Persie this time. Nope, I'm talking about Thomas Vermaelen, who now has three more league goals than £50 million Chelsea striker Fernando Torres.

As you may have noticed, Vermaelen's goal came roughly 10 minutes of game time after his most recent strike—which came deep in stoppage time last Monday against Newcastle United.

Not bad for a central defender. Not bad for anyone, really.

Arsenal Can Win Without Falling Behind

Arsenal's previous four wins during the streak had all come after the Gunners had fallen behind. That wasn't going to be a problem Wednesday after Arsenal's fast start.

The Gunners dominated the early parts of the match, tearing Everton's defense apart with quick, sharp one-touch and two-touch passing. By the time Vermaelen nodded Arsenal ahead with an eighth-minute header, midfielder Aaron Ramsey had already wasted multiple chances.

Arsenal never found the second goal they craved, but in winning 1-0 they did show that they can hold a tight lead in an away match.

Whereas the early exchanges produced flowing football from Arsenal, the latter stages coaxed a gritty performance out Arsene Wenger's supposedly lightweight squad.

As the race for third place continues, that quality could prove valuable.

Arsenal Can Win Without Robin van Persie Scoring

Robin van Persie did not score Wednesday night. What's more, he wasted at least two good chances in the second half.

In the 57th minute, the Arsenal captain hit the upright after an excellent controlling header by Kieran Gibbs. With eight minutes left before stoppage time, he blasted a shot well over the bar after a Gervinho breakaway.

In fairness, the latter miss had plenty to do with the poor quality of Gervinho's pass. But the point is that RvP didn't score for once. And it didn't hurt Arsenal.

Arsenal have been called a one-man team on numerous occasions this season, and Wednesday's result probably won't change that. But it did prove that Arsenal can win without Robin van Persie scoring.

Not All Bad Calls Can Be Fixed with Technology

Everton thought they had equalized in the first half, but the linesman ruled out Royston Drenthe's 31st-minute effort for offside.

It was a bad call. Replays proved it conclusively.

The calls for goal-line technology have become more intense in recent weeks, and for good reason. That's one area in which technology can improve the game.

Offside calls are different. Sometimes they go for you (yes, you too, Everton fans), and sometimes they go against you.

That's football, and like it or not, it's not going to change.