Arsenal will attempt to maintain their positive momentum when they welcome Everton to the Emirates Stadium in Sunday afternoon's Premier League clash.
The Gunners have won four matches on the spin in all competitions and come up against a Toffees side winless in their last three top-flight outings.
Arsenal
© Reuters
Unai Emery was always confident that Arsenal would push on following their tough start to the campaign, having been given the toughest of early-season fixtures to begin this new era in North London.
An opening-game defeat to champions Manchester City was followed up by a 3-2 loss at Chelsea, with the Gunners battling back from two goals down but conceding a third goal late on at Stamford Bridge, leaving Emery with few positives to take into the next run of games.
Time was always going to be key when Emery was appointed, though, and having been given an extra month to instil his favoured style of play on his players, Arsenal are now in a far stronger position.
The 3-1 win over West Ham United was flattering, but a win by any means necessary was vital on that late August afternoon, and away triumphs at Cardiff City and Newcastle United have followed either side of the international break.
Cardiff and Newcastle may be struggling at the wrong end of the table, but those were exactly the type of fixtures the Gunners too often slipped up in on their travels in Arsene Wenger's final campaign at the helm. It seems that they are made of tougher stuff under new boss Emery.
This current three-match winning run in the top flight extends to four matches when accounting for the 4-2 victory over Vorskla Poltava in the Europa League on Thursday night, as the Londoners - showing eight changes from the win at Newcastle - got their Group E campaign off to the perfect start.
Perfect in terms of three points being put on the board, at least, because Emery was not entirely convinced by his side's performance, having conceded two goals in the closing stages of the game when they looked to be home and dry.
The biggest concern for Emery will be his side's inability to keep a clean sheet, failing to do so in all six of their competitive matches since the Spaniard's summer arrival. At the other end of the field 14 goals have been scored, so supporters will certainly get their money's worth if the first month of this new era is anything to go by.
Recent form in Premier League: LLWWW
Recent form (all competitions): LLWWWW
Everton
© Reuters
Everton head to the Emirates Stadium - a ground that they have still yet to win at - on the back of a patchy run of form that has seen them go three league matches without a victory.
The Toffees have drawn both of their away games 2-2, after taking the lead in those matches against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Bournemouth, while also dropping two points at home to Huddersfield Town and all three against West Ham.
Their only three-point haul so far came in the home match against Southampton on August 18, in fact, so this is not exactly the start to the season that new boss Marco Silva envisaged.
That is not to say that it is all doom and gloom for Everton, who can draw level on points with their opponents with a surprise win on Sunday. Silva has already made the Toffees more pleasing on the eye, while his high-press strategy should pay dividends in the long run.
Six points from six games would be a poor tally, however, after Silva was heavily back in the summer transfer window to add to a squad that was already well stocked.
Getting Richarlison back up to speed could prove key for the former Hull City and Watford boss, having seen his side fail to collect a point in the two league games that the Brazilian has missed since his silly sending-off against Bournemouth.
Silva will be without numerous others for this weekend's trip to the capital, though, with as many as seven players missing out, four of whom can be considered regulars when they are fully fit.
Everton remain in desperate need of some momentum, having won back-to-back league games on just two occasions since last Christmas, and only then will Silva's reign be truly up and running.
Recent form in Premier League: DWDDL
Recent form (all competitions): DWDWDL
Team News
© Reuters
Lucas Torreira was heavily involved for Arsenal when making his full debut for the club in Thursday's win over Vorskla, but he limped off the field with a knee injury and is a serious doubt for the visit of Everton.
That will likely mean Matteo Guendouzi and Granit Xhaka, left out in midweek as Emery made the most of his squad depth, resuming their partnership in defensive midfield.
A knock sustained by Aaron Ramsey last week could see him miss out, opening up a space for Henrikh Mkhitaryan to return to the Arsenal attack, but Emery will give the Welshman every chance of featuring as he has six league goals against the Toffees.
Nacho Monreal, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are also expected to keep their places in the side from the Europa League match, though it remains to be seen whether Emery will recall Petr Cech in goal or stick with Bernd Leno after the German conceded twice on his debut.
The visitors will be without Yerry Mina, James McCarthy, Michael Keane, Phil Jagielka, Seamus Coleman, Andre Gomes and Beni Baningime for Sunday's match.
Richarlison's return to the forward line is a major boost, however, with the Brazilian boasting three goals in three games, which will likely mean Dominic Calvert-Lewin dropping down to the bench.
Jonjoe Kenny has made the most of Coleman's absence at right-back and will start at the Emirates Stadium, while on the opposite flank Lucas Digne has ousted long-serving Leighton Baines.
Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Cech; Bellerin, Mustafi, Sokratis, Monreal; Guendouzi, Xhaka; Mkhitaryan, Ozil, Aubameyang; Lacazette
Everton possible starting lineup:
Pickford; Kenny, Holgate, Zouma, Digne; Gueye, Schneiderlin; Walcott, Sigurdsson, Richarlison; Tosun
Head To Head
Arsenal are unbeaten in their last 24 home matches against Everton in all competitions, dropping points in just four of those games since a 2-1 Premier League loss in January 1996.
The Gunners were 5-1 winners here in the most recent encounter nearly eight months ago, with Ramsey bagging a hat-trick to maintain his impressive personal record in this fixture.
Forty-nine different players have scored a Premier League goal for Arsenal against Everton, in fact - the only side to have more against a single opponent in the competition are Chelsea, who boast 52 different scorers against Tottenham Hotspur.
We say: Arsenal 3-1 Everton
Arsenal have momentum on their side and will be looking to take full advantage of this second home outing in the space of 10 days. The Gunners' defending still needs working on, but it is difficult to see the visitors ending their terrible away record in this fixture on Sunday.
No Data Analysis info
