First, what a lovely goal to win in Belgrade! Giroud meant that, 100%, and the buildup was sublime. It was a great run-out for some youngsters, too. It's cruise control now in the Europa League until the knockout stages, which should help us immensely in the EPL. We'll want to finish top, which should be easy now, with the two opponents closest on points having to come to the Emirates.
Everton. Oh, poor Everton. They looked completely disjointed. Every time I see Sigurdson take the field against us I am concerned, but he looked like a man who's abandoned all hope, having jumped from Swansea into an even less promising situation. I thought Koeman was fine, but Everton's dreadful play is not good evidence for that. Arsenal's passing was slick and assured (mostly), but we've tried the same tricks and flicks against every other team with far less success. The Toffees looked awful. No, they were awful. So I'm not going to get carried away with this richly deserved win.
We should have been out of sight in the first ten minutes. But another poor touch from Xhaka allowed Rooney the chance to score, and he did so with an excellent strike. I don't begrudge him; he's earned his reputation and the ovation he got for that goal for his first club. The Gunners resumed their dominance and finally broke through when Monreal tucked away a rebound of a Xhaka shot very nicely. (I know Xhaka has a shot, but he's trying a few too many from long range for my liking.) Halftime was a welcome respite for Everton.
Alexis was picking out lovely passes all game, and none were better than the ball he served Ozil to head past Pickford. I don't know how many headed goals Ozil has made in his career, but I don't remember another at Arsenal. This one, however, was well done. I was feeling confident, and Gueye's ejection turned it into a rout. A flowing move ended with Lacazette sweeping in #3, and after Jack entered the game, he put Ramsey in and this time the Welshman finished his chance. (He bottled an earlier one.) A comedy goal resulted from a poor Monreal back-pass that Cech was slow to react to; 2-4. Alexis finally got the goal his performance deserved at the death.
Not to be picky, but Xhaka had another poor game, in my opinion. Kolasinac is not 100%, but performed adequately. Bellerin has got to be one of the worst crossers in EPL history. I love the rest of his game, but he probably could have gotten three assists today. The back three was very good, though Everton's attack wasn't fearsome. The mids were good enough. Ramsey went high so often that he looked like a second center forward. At least he got a goal today. I like his confidence, but where does he get it? The front three were very good, always dangerous, and each got a goal. I'm convinced that Lacazette is going to knock quite a few in this season. Alexis is magical. Given the space he had today, he can tear a defense apart with either his dribbling or his passing, and he can finish too. Ozil had the right opponent today--they hammered Alexis when they could catch him, but Ozil glided where he wanted to. Nice stuff.
This game changes nothing. We still have trouble against a press, we're wasteful in front of goal, and we look fragile, especially away, against most teams. Everton is imploding. Cech needs to do some work to at least start anticipating events better; he's lost a step and opposing forwards are catching on. Xhaka has got to start listening to the coaching staff. He's killing us.
Ah, well, I feel so much better than I did a week ago. On to the Carabao Cup game Tuesday against Norwich. Home games against Swansea and Red Star Belgrade lead into a gut check at Man City on November 5. I'll take a point, thanks.
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