Arsenal vs. Everton: Score and Reaction from 2015 Premier League Match

Arsenal continued their strong form with a 2-1 win over Everton on Saturday, their fourth straight in the 2015-16 Premier League season. 

Olivier Giroud and Laurent Koscielny scored in quick succession to hand the hosts a deserved lead, but a deflected shot from Ross Barkley brought the Toffees back within a single goal just before half-time. Both teams had chances in the second half, but some strong goalkeeping ensured the score wouldn't change. 

Everton could have grabbed a point with some better finishing, but overall, Arsenal deserved the win. The Toffees ended the match with 10 men, as Gareth Barry was dismissed in injury time.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger made a couple of changes to the side that beat Bayern Munich in midweek, introducing the in-form Giroud and adding some pace with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Per Football Insider, he explained his decision:

For the visitors, Gerard Deulofeu came into the squad to replace Steven Naismith.

The start of the match was a little hectic, with the ball switching sides rapidly and plenty of interesting battles developing out wide. Deulofeu and Nacho Monreal went at each other early, while Hector Bellerin gladly moved forward every chance he got on the other wing.

Giroud headed the first real chance of the match wide before Gabriel got a better angle on the ball minutes later, but his header failed to trouble goalkeeper Tim Howard.

Francis Coquelin has been in exceptional form of late, and the French midfielder once again bossed proceedings in the midfield with a number of timely blocks. Mesut Ozil had a great chance to open the scoring after some lovely work from Alexis Sanchez, but the former Real Madrid star shot straight at Howard.

Meanwhile, BBC Sport's Phil McNulty spotted a rather unusual spectator:

John Stones should have given the visitors the lead after a mad scramble in the Arsenal box, with the ball ending up at his feet with over half of the goal unmarked. Inexplicably, the England international hurried his attempt and fired the ball over the goal.

Koscielny was the next to come close to scoring, narrowly missing the ball after a superb cross from Ozil. Arsenal were the dominant side, and a goal for the Gunners seemed inevitable.

It was Ozil who unlocked the Toffees defence with a lovely cross, which Giroud powered past Howard. The goalkeeper should have done a better job commanding his area, but Giroud did well to find the space and convert the chance, underlining his strong form.

The Daily Mirror's John Cross was even more impressed with Ozil's delivery, however:

Orbinho highlighted Ozil's effectiveness with an incredible statistic:

Two minutes later, the hosts doubled their lead. Santi Cazorla sent a free-kick into the box and Howard once again looked shaky on the delivery, allowing Koscielny to power a header into the back of the net.

Eurosport UK was none too impressed with the veteran stopper:

The Gunners continued to dominate and went looking for a third goal to fully put the match away, but that in turn opened up space for Everton. A quick counter attack saw the ball fall for Barkley, who tried to surprise Petr Cech with a shot from distance. The ball took a big deflection off Gabriel, giving the Arsenal 'keeper no chance of making the save.

Deulofeu appealed for a late free-kick after a challenge from Monreal but to no avail, and after two minutes of injury time, the official brought an end to an entertaining first half.

As expected, Howard's struggles were a big topic of discussion during half-time. Footballer-turned-pundit Rodney Marsh put it this way:

Sanchez had a good chance to make it 3-1 minutes into the second half, but under pressure from Seamus Coleman, his effort went out for a corner.

Phil Jagielka was forced to come off the pitch after clashing with Oxlade-Chamberlain, as the veteran defender appeared to twist his knee. With him on the sidelines, more chances started to fall to the Gunners.

Giroud and Sanchez both went close within minutes of each other, but Howard seemed determined to make up for his earlier errors, intervening twice.

Everton blogger Mark Ellis was shocked:

"

Howard came off his line pic.twitter.com/DsERobtGdZ

— Mark Ellis (@Markthablue) October 24, 2015"

With the exception of a handful of counters, all the danger seemed to come from the Gunners, but Sanchez and Ozil both missed solid chances. Arsenal looked a bit sloppy in front of goal, and with a one-goal lead, the team was playing with fire.

Giroud came closest with 20 minutes to play, turning from his marker before unleashing a shot that smacked the cross bar. On the other side of the pitch, Romelu Lukaku suffered the same fate with a strong header. 

Bleacher Report's James McNicholas didn't like Arsenal's efforts at this point:

Bellerin wanted a penalty after a challenge from Kevin Mirallas with six minutes left to play, but the official waved to play on. Mathieu Flamini also had a crack at goal, putting a shot just wide of the post.

Immediately afterward, Cech was forced into making another fine save to deny Everton the equaliser, with Deulofeu getting a look at the goal from a great angle. Ozil answered with a lovely low shot that hit the outside of the post.

That would be the final chance of the match, as the Gunners held on for the win. In injury time, Barry was sent off for a second bookable offence.

Arsenal will travel to Wales to take on Swansea City next week, and given the Swans' spotty form, the Gunners' title charge should continue. Everton host winless Sunderland and should have no problems picking up the win and firing themselves into contention for the UEFA Europa League slots.

Post-Match Reaction

Wenger reserved special praise for Ozil, who produced another class outing on Saturday. Per the club's official Twitter account, he said:

He also commented on the fact the Gunners are now top of the Premier League standings:

Everton manager Roberto Martinez refused to go into detail on who was at fault for the goals, but he conceded both of them hurt:

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