Everton vs Arsenal Preview, Team News, Likely Line-Ups, Key Man + Predicted Score

Arsenal face a tough trip to Goodison Park to take on Everton on Saturday night with the Gunners looking to make it two wins from two so far this season.

We opened the new campaign with a nervy 2-1 win over Crystal Palace at the Emirates last weekend, with Aaron Ramsey once again in the right place at the right time to score a last gasp winner.

It was far from a vintage Arsenal performance and we followed it up with another below par display during a 0-0 draw with Besiktas in the first leg of our Champions League play off on Tuesday night.

While it’s still early in the season and we’ll no doubt improve, we will certainly have to up our game this evening if we want to take anything away from Goodison Park.

The last time we met Everton in the league we were thrashed 3-0, so we know how good a side the Merseysiders can be when they are on form and we have an off day. Roberto Martinez’s men were held to a 2-2 draw by Leicester City on the opening day, so they will be keen to get three points on the board today, particularly with games against Chelsea, Man Utd and Liverpool coming up.

Team News

The good news is that our World Cup winning Germans are available again having been given extra time off following their exploits in Brazil.

Mesut Ozil and Per Mertesacker are both pushing for recalls, however, Lukas Podolski has surprisingly been left out of the squad fuelling speculation he could be set for a move away from the club.

Mikel Arteta misses the trip to his former side due to an ankle injury so Mathieu Flamini is likely to start in midfield. Kieran Gibbs remains out with a hamstring problem so Nacho Monreal will continue to deputise at left-back.

Theo Walcott, Serge Gnabry, David Ospina and Ryo Miyaichi remain unavailable, but Yaya Sanogo is back in contention having missed the trip to Turkey.

Everton could welcome back Darron Gibson after the midfielder recovered from a serious knee injury that he suffered way back in October, but the Irishman is unlikely to make the starting eleven.

Seamus Coleman should start having come off the bench last week following a hamstring injury, but Bryan Oviedo, Ross Barkley and Arouna Kone are all out.

Likely Line-Ups

Key Man

Mesut Ozil: The German’s guile has been missed in the first two games and his inclusion should bring the best out of Alexis Sanchez. I can’t wait to see how the duo link-up together, let’s hope they start to click right away.

Predicted Score

Everton 1-1 Arsenal: Goodison Park is a tough place to go at the best of times, but when you throw in the fact the players are still rusty and we had a tough midweek fixture, I think we’ll be thankful to come away with a point this evening.

What team would you put out and whats your predicted score?