Arsenal have beaten Everton more times than any other team has beaten any other opponent in the history of the English top flight, and the Gunners seek a 103rd first-division win over the Toffees in Saturday's Premier League battle at the Emirates.
The Gunners return to top-flight action after hitting Monaco for three without reply in the Champions League, while Sean Dyche's team have had over a week to recuperate from their astounding 4-0 smashing of Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Match preview
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Dejection became delight for Bukayo Saka on Wednesday evening; after the Arsenal academy graduate had a last-gasp winner disallowed in last weekend's 1-1 draw with Fulham, he had a direct hand in all three goals when Monaco came to visit in the Champions League.
Saka's brace and assist for Kai Havertz propelled Arsenal to an ultimately comfortable success over an error-strewn Monaco, who were fortunate not to be three or four goals down inside the opening 45 minutes, as Gabriel Jesus and Martin Odegaard both squandered magnificent opportunities to score.
Now on the cusp of automatic last-16 qualification, Arsenal - who scored all three of their goals on Wednesday from open play - have some mistakes to rectify in the Premier League, having seen their momentum stall at Craven Cottage to leave them third in the rankings, six points below Liverpool having played a game more.
Some pessimistic Gooners may already be writing off their side's title hopes after a fifth stalemate of the season, but the race for glory is far from a foregone conclusion, and Arsenal remain unbreakable at their Emirates base so far this season.
Indeed, Wednesday's success over Monaco marked the third home game in a row where Arsenal have both scored multiple goals and kept a clean sheet, and their 81% win rate in Premier League home matches in 2024 is their best record since triumphing in 84% of such matches in 2007.
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The only Premier League match to fall victim to devastating Storm Darragh last weekend, Everton and Liverpool's final top-flight derby at Goodison Park was pushed back to a later date, undoubtedly a more inconvenient postponement for the Toffees than the Reds.
Dyche's men would have welcomed their bitter rivals to their headquarters on the back of their best performance of the season so far, having slaughtered relegation-battling Wolves 4-0 on a day where Ashley Young scored a magnificent free kick and Craig Dawson turned the ball into his own net twice.
Prior to the thrashing of Gary O'Neil's side, Everton had gone scoreless in four Premier League matches, winless in five and had only managed five goals in their previous eight matches, but putting Wolves to the sword solidified their buffer to the relegation zone.
The 15th-placed Toffees are five points clear of 18th-placed Ipswich Town with a game in hand, but the Tractor Boys are coincidentally the only team that Everton have beaten in a Premier League away game in 2024; they have failed to breach Southampton, West Ham United or Manchester United's nets since then.
Furthermore, after winning four of their five Premier League matches against Arsenal from December 2020 to February 2023, Everton have now lost their last three against the Gunners, but Arsenal's 2-1 home success on the final day of last season was ultimately in vain.
Team News
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Arsenal's defensive injury crisis appeared to take another turn for the worse when Thomas Partey and Jurrien Timber missed training on Tuesday, but both were able to take to the field against Monaco, the former in his makeshift right-back role.
However, Riccardo Calafiori (knee), Gabriel Magalhaes (unspecified) and Oleksandr Zinchenko (muscle) all missed out and are uncertain for the visit of the Toffees, while Ben White (knee) and Takehiro Tomiyasu (knee) are a ways away from coming back.
Timber was only considered for a substitute appearance in the visit of Monaco, allowing Myles Lewis-Skelly to make a big impression at left-back, but the Dutchman should replace his teenage colleague in one of a couple of alterations from the hosts.
Meanwhile, Everton's extended break has allowed Dyche and co more time to recover their injured troops, and there is a slim chance that defender Michael Keane will be back from a knee complaint in time to face the Gunners.
However, Chermiti (unspecified), James Garner (back) and Tim Iroegbunam (ankle) are all expected to miss the trip to the Emirates, where Dyche will surely see no need to alter the starting XI from the midweek mauling of Wolves.
As such, Dominic Calvert-Lewin - sensationally linked with a January transfer to Arsenal - should keep Beto at bay up front, despite now going 10 matches without scoring a goal in the Premier League.
Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Raya; Partey, Saliba, Kiwior, Timber; Odegaard, Rice, Merino; Saka, Havertz, Trossard
Everton possible starting lineup:
Pickford; Young, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Mangala, Gueye; Ndiaye, Doucoure, McNeil; Calvert-Lewin
We say: Arsenal 2-0 Everton
As masterful as Arsenal have been from dead-ball situations this term, Everton have scored 57% of their Premier League goals from set-pieces, suggesting that Saturday's game could very well be won and lost from the corner flag.
Arteta's men will no doubt come up against a a quintessential Dyche low block, but their open-play sequences on Wednesday were significantly improved, and they should wear down the Toffees eventually before seeing out a routine win.
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Ben Knapton
