Our 3️⃣ points after Everton end miserable run against Arsenal | OneFootball

There were protests against the club’s board and two disallowed goals, but Everton tasted victory for the first time since September when they came from behind to beat Arsenal on Monday.

Here’s our analysis of the action from Goodison Park.

So near, yet so VAR

Before this weekend, it had been a while since Premier League fans were legitimately able to grumble about VAR, but grumbling is back on the menu in a big way.

It was Arsenal who had the first big complaint of the night, when Everton’s Ben Godfrey was somehow not sent off or even booked for stepping on Takehiro Tomiyasu’s face in the first half.

It may have been unintentional but it looked just as nasty in real time as it did in slow motion, and should surely have warranted some kind of punishment.

And then if Everton were aggrieved to see Richarlison’s first half goal correctly ruled out for offside by VAR, they will have been incredibly frustrated when the same thing happened in the second half.

Even if that decision was correct, it’s hard to get your head around the technology being used to spot a player’s toe being offside, but not being used when another player’s toe is used to kick someone in the face.

Relief for Rafa

Everton’s awful run of form has caused tensions in the boardroom and in the stands, but the Goodison Park faithful will have been reminded just why they love their club when Demarai Gray’s wonderful strike smacked in off the post in injury time.

The result was no less than they deserved after showing fighting spirit to keep plugging away when it felt like it wasn’t going to be their night.

Gray and Richarlison both had excellent games while André Gomes was impressive after coming on to replace the ineffective Andros Townsend in the second half.

An unwelcome injury to Yerry Mina aside, it was a perfect tonic for the ailing Toffees and beleaguered manager Rafael Benítez can breathe a small sigh of relief tonight.

Next up is a trip to Crystal Palace, and they must build on this result and performance.

Taking the Mikel

That late goal was a sickener for Arsenal, but anyone familiar with this team will have seen it coming a mile off.

There were some bright moments for the Gunners here, with Kieran Tierney’s cross and Martin Ødegaard’s finish for their goal being as good as it got.

But they’re a young side who have real difficulty controlling games, and they never seemed to have a tight grip on this contest.

Mikel Arteta wasn’t helped by an injury to Gabriel Martinelli in the second half and though a couple of refereeing decisions went against them, they were let off by VAR with two poorly defended goals as well.

Eddie Nketiah came on and spurned a golden chance to make it 2-1 late on, before Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang fluffed a great opportunity to equalise with the last kick off the game, which just about summed it up.

There is still plenty of trust in Arteta’s process, but it’s a longer process than many expected, and it often isn’t particularly enjoyable to watch.