Mesut Ozil tried to silence his critics with a man of the match display as Arsenal bounced back to winning ways and pushed Everton further into trouble with a 5-2 victory at Goodison Park.
The German international has been criticised lately for going missing in games, with some questioning his commitment to the Arsenal shirt. But he definitely turned up with a good performance on Merseyside, scoring one and setting up another, so let's just hope he can continue this in the coming weeks and not go missing again.
We came out of the blocks quickly in the first half and produced some scintillating passing and looked the more dominant of the two sides, but we failed to make it count early on due to the brilliance of Jordan Pickford in the Everton goal. Pickford was called into action after just three minutes when Ozil released Aaron Ramsey, and the 23-year-old expertly turned the Welsh midfielder's strike behind for a corner. Pickford produced an even better save to deny Alexandre Lacazette from point-blank range six minutes later.
Arsenal were in total control, but Everton then took the lead out of nowhere and initially it felt like it was just going to be one of those days. Granit Xhaka dithered on the ball before being dispossessed and Wayne Rooney made the most of the opportunity with a superb curling effort from outside the box.
But instead of letting it deter them Arsenal tried to find a way back into the game as Pickford once again had to come to the host's rescue. Pickford parried a free-kick from Alexis Sanchez before denying Ramsey on the follow-up.
At the other end youngster Dominic Calvert-Lewin headed just wide, but it was Arsenal who continued to create the better chances in the first half. Hector Bellerin's strike from the edge of the area was saved by Pickford, but the Gunners had better luck soon after as they equalised five minutes before the break. Pickford again kept the visitors as bay as he parried Xhaka's low strike, but Nacho Monreal was on hand to power home the rebound.
The goal definitely came at the right time for Arsenal as if Everton had kept us goalless going in at half-time the second half could have been a different story. Instead, we very nearly went in front just before half-time, only for Pickford to produce another excellent save to deny Sanchez.
Arsenal went in front for the first time in the match as Ozil scored a well-deserved goal within eight minutes of the restart. There has been much talk lately about the futures of Ozil and Sanchez, but whatever happens in the coming months the duo combined brilliantly for this goal. Sanchez ran down the left and cut inside before crossing for Ozil to flick a header beyond Pickford - a great cross and a well-taken goal.
Although we looked the better of the two sides, 2-1 was always a dangerous scoreline and I was still nervous of us losing our lead. Arsenal's task was made easier after 68 minutes when Everton midfielder Idrissa Gueye was sent off for a second bookable offence following a foul on Xhaka.
The Gunners took advantage of having the extra man as Lacazette increased their lead six minutes later. A quick and flowing passing move led to Ozil picking out the France international to slot home his first away goal for the club.
Although he was only given 13 minutes at the end, it was great to see Jack Wilshere come on for his first Premier League appearance of the season. He hasn't had the best of luck with injury, but in his last few appearances he has really impressed me and I'd like to see him back in the starting line-up on a regular basis.
Xhaka thumped an effort against the crossbar before Pickford did just about enough to stop Ramsey from scoring a headed rebound in the closing stages.
There was still time for a late flurry of goals, starting with Ramsey's inside the final minute of normal time. Wilshere's perfectly-timed through ball released his fellow midfielder, who made no mistake as he slotted the ball home.
Arsenal were more than worthy of their three-goal lead, but the nature of the late goal they conceded was rather worrying and the mistake from Petr Cech should have been avoided. Monreal underhit a back-pass before Cech gifted the ball straight to Oumar Niasse, who made no mistake to score the simplest of finishes in stoppage time.
The scoring wasn't over yet as Sanchez managed to get his name on the scoresheet at the death. The Chilean confused the home defence as he dribbled across the face of goal, before he unleashed a shot into the far side of the net. It was a top finish and a great end to what was a much-needed victory for Arsenal.
OPPOSITION VIEW
Other than Rooney's superb strike there wasn't too much to cheer about for the home faithful at Goodison Park, so it was unsurprising that Everton fans Paul O'Neill and David Bridson were feeling rather downbeat with their club now in the relegation zone.
"There was a lot of hype about this match being a hard one to predict," said O'Neill. "But in truth it was always going to be a foregone conclusion and Arsenal didn't fail to disappoint.
"With Arsenal winning in Europe and us losing it was set up to be the same again. More woeful defending at times and lack of possession has been all too similar this season for the Blues.
"Time will tell if this result will seal Koeman's fate, I would say it should. He's trying to blame the red card for Everton's loss, but the game was already gone by then.
"The players certainly lack confidence and a new manager would hopefully lift them. This match was too easy for Arsenal and that's why Cech pratted about for our second.
"The crazy money in the game right now is extremely disillusioning for your hard working fan. Moshari has chucked in a quarter of billion pounds worth of transfers and Everton lie 18th. It's a crazy business.
"I don't believe for one moment Everton will go down even if Koeman stays. Our next league games are away to Leicester, home to Watford and away to Palace. We have to be looking at nine points regardless of who's in charge.
"As for Arsenal I can see them finishing fourth and Wenger maybe finally leaving. But who knows, it's a funny old game."
Bridson also found it difficult to find many positives from the match, adding: "The result goes against everything that was asked of the team before the game. We needed a big performance to merit playing for both the manager and fans, but what we were given was embarrassing.
"The ease at which the away side have been allowed to walk the ball in to the net highlights the worryingly low level of confidence at the once intimidating Goodison Park.
"Yet again we have started brightly; Rooney's sublime strike gave me hope today might be the day we would flourish and kick-start our season. But we soon capitulated and gave in far too easily to a resolute and punishing Arsenal side who were gifted acres of space in which to play.
"I've been through relegation battles before; this could be another long, hard slog if confidence is not restored quickly at this great football club."
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
It was a much-improved performance and the three points sees us in fifth place with only goal difference keeping us behind champions Chelsea.
But the top three of the two Manchester clubs and our bitter rivals Tottenham are far ahead of us and they won't drop many points, so we need to make sure we focus on our own game and build up a consistent run of form in the coming months. Whether we will though is another story.
Focus now switches to the League Cup and the visit of Norwich, which is a tie we really should be winning even if we field fringe players and youngsters, but we can't take anything for granted and need to make sure we perform on the day.
We close the month with a home league game against Swansea so let's make sure we end October strongly and don't revert back to some of the sloppy play we have seen in previous matches.
COME ON YOU GUNNERS
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