Arsenal can’t pass-up chance to extend lead with win over Everton

Arsenal will be looking to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table with a win over Everton at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night.

The Gunners suffered a mini slump earlier this month after losing to Everton and Manchester City while they were also held to a controversial 1-1 draw at home to Brentford. Having taken just one point from a possible nine, Arsenal saw their lead at the top of the table evaporate with City closing-in to within touching distance.

However, Mikel Arteta rallied his troops and they got back to winning ways with a comeback victory over Aston Villa last weekend. The North Londoners then eased to a comfortable 1-0 win over Leicester City on Saturday afternoon to ensure they remain two points ahead of defending champions City with a game in hand.

With the Citizens in FA Cup action against Bristol City tomorrow night, Arsenal will finally get to play their game in hand with the re-scheduled home fixture against Everton. The original game was postponed due to the Queens death back in early September.

The Gunners lost 1-0 in the reverse fixture at Goodison Park just a few weeks ago so they’ll want to avenge that costly loss on Wednesday night. That game was Sean Dyche’s first as Everton’s new manager so it was always going to be a tricky test for Arsenal, but they’ll be confident of getting their own back on home soil.

This is a huge opportunity for Arsenal to extend their lead over Man City to five points so Arteta won’t want to pass it up. With four of their next five league games at home and all very winnable on paper, the Gunners will hope to take maximum points over the coming weeks to cement their place at the top of the Premier League table heading into the business end of the season.

However, they shouldn’t underestimate Everton as the Toffees proved they are capable of pulling off shock results with their win over the league leaders earlier this month. Dyche has got his side more organised and they desperately need a positive result to pull them away from the relegation zone.

Everton currently sit in the bottom three in 18th position but victory over Arsenal would see them move level on points with 14th placed Leicester City.  The Merseysiders will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2-0 home defeat to Aston Villa at the weekend.

How to watch

Frustratingly, this game will not be broadcast live on any television channel on Wednesday night. Therefore, fans will have to have a matchday ticket if they’re too watch the game live. Getting hold of Arsenal tickets is extremely difficult and even more so with the team battling to win the Premier League title this season.

Season ticket holders and those lucky enough to get a ticket via official channels have ensured they’ll be able to attend the game. For those supporters who are trying to buy a ticket via other means it’s important to use a reputable reseller site like seatsnet.com to ensure you get genuine tickets safely and securely.

Partey to start?

Arsenal were handed a major boost at the weekend as Thomas Partey returned to the squad after missing the previous two matches with a muscle injury. Arteta didn’t want to take any risks so only named him among the substitutes but Partey made a successful return to action off the bench in the second half against Leicester City.

The Ghanaian is now pushing to return to the starting eleven but it will be interesting to see what Arteta does as Jorginho has been excellent during Partey’s absence. The Italian international was instrumental during the win over Aston Villa and impressed again at the weekend in the holding midfield role so he may even keep his place in the Arsenal eleven.

Arteta could opt to rest Granit Xhaka and play both Partey and Jorginho, but the Gunners boss will be reluctant to make too many changes from the side that’s served him so well this season.

Leandro Trossard started up front at the weekend and he also impressed. The Belgian international was unlucky to see an excellent goal harshly ruled out for a minor infringement from Ben White on the Leicester goalkeeper. With Gabriel Jesus still working his way back from a knee injury and Eddie Nketiah nursing an ankle knock, Trossard could keep his place against Everton.

Emile Smith Rowe was also back in the squad against Leicester after recovering from injury. He was an unused substitute at the King Power Stadium so the attacker will be hoping to get some minutes under his belt from the bench on Wednesday night.

If Arteta wants to freshen things up, then Takehiro Tomiyasu could replace Ben White at right-back while Kieran Tierney is an option to come in at left-back – although Oleksandr Zinchenko is expected to keep his place as he’s an important first team member. Fabio Vieira also came off the bench to grab an assist at the weekend so he could be in Arteta’s thoughts, but he’s likely to settle for a place among the substitutes once again.

As for Everton, they’ll assess Dominic Calvert-Lewin but the striker is a major doubt with a thigh injury that’s hampered him lately. Nathan Patterson is also expected to miss out once again with a knee injury while James Garner faces a late test on a knock. However, Andros Townsend is certain to miss the trip to North London with a knee injury.

Likely line-ups

Arsenal: Ramsdale; Tomiyasu, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko; Jorginho, Partey; Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli; Trossard

Everton: Pickford; Coleman, Tarkowski, Coady, Mykolenko; Doucoure, Gueye, Onana; Iwobi, Gray, McNeil

Prediction

This is a terrific chance for Arsenal to tighten their grip at the top of the table. Everton were excellent in the game at Goodison Park but are still hugely inconsistent – as they’ve shown with poor displays against Liverpool and Aston Villa since the win over the Gunners.

Arteta will have his troops focussed and determined not to slip up at home. The Londoners have been excellent for the vast majority of the season. They are well organised and play great football packed with technical quality, so it’s difficult to see past an Arsenal win on Wednesday night.

With City not playing a Premier League game in midweek, Arsenal can’t pass up the chance to get another win under their belt and cement their advantage over their title rivals. So we’re backing the Gunners to ease to victory and extend their lead over Manchester City to five points with 13 games left to play. Arsenal 2-0 Everton