Arsenal 2-1 Everton: Player ratings as Gunners title bid falls short

Arsenal fell short in their quest to win the Premier League title as Sunday's 2-1 win over Everton was not enough to stop Manchester City from getting their hands on the trophy once again.

Without the injured Bukayo Saka, Arsenal looked flat on a day which required anything but, and they made life hard for themselves when Idrissa Gana Gueye's free-kick deflected into the back of the net off the head of Declan Rice late in the first half.

Takehiro Tomiyasu responded almost immediately and Kai Havertz netted a late winner, but City's comfortable 3-1 win over West Ham United ensured the Gunners would have to settle for second in the standings.

How the game unfolded

Havertz fizzed over from range after 30 seconds as Arsenal set out to make an instant impact - but it was City who laughed first as Phil Foden put the league leaders ahead inside the first two minutes.

Rice headed wide under little pressure soon after, before a tame low strike drew a comfortable save from Jordan Pickford.

The Everton stopper had a tougher job to do shortly after as Gabriel Martinelli tried to break the deadlock, getting down well with a strong hand to repel the Brazilian's effort.

A second goal for City around the 20-minute mark led to an audible deflation around the Emirates and the action on the pitch also fell a little flat.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin fired against the post on a rare foray forward and could only turn the rebound into the side-netting, and Everton snatched a shock lead five minutes before the break after Idrissa Gana Gueye's free-kick flew off Rice's head and into the back of the net.

It didn't take long for Arsenal to respond, however. Tomiyasu comfortably dispatched a cut-back from Martin Odegaard, moments before West Ham pulled one back against Man City to rejuvenate the crowd heading into the interval.

On the hour mark, news of a third goal for City once again suffocated the atmosphere and Calvert-Lewin nearly capitalised with a powerful strike that needed a flying stop from David Raya.

Havertz hit the post from a Gabriel Martinelli cross, and Odegaard sparked a goal-mouth scramble with a strike that was well-saved from Pickford amid a sea of blue shirts.

Next to hit the woodwork was Emile Smith Rowe, whose volleyed bounced up on to the bar heading into a final five minutes that also saw Jarrad Branthwaite head Gabriel Jesus' strike over.

Havertz thumped home in the dying embers after a huge error from Ashley Young, but City's victory over West Ham ensured it counted for little when all was said and done.

Arsenal player ratings (4-3-3)

GK: David Raya - 6/10 - Hardly involved. Could do nothing about Gueye's deflected goal.

RB: Ben White - 5/10 - Can't fault his desire to get forwards but his impact in the final third was well below the standard he has set in recent weeks.

CB: William Saliba - 6/10 - Found himself in a tough battle with Calvert-Lewin. Usually came out on top but wasn't always comfortable.

CB: Gabriel - 6/10 - Didn't have his busiest game. Wasn't always accurate with his passes but nothing of any real concern. Limped off injured shortly before the hour mark.

LB: Takehiro Tomiyasu - 7/10 - Smart movement to free himself up for the equaliser, which he took with real composure.

DM: Thomas Partey - 5/10 - Felt noticeably off the pace here. Couldn't keep up with Everton's attempts to counter.

CM: Martin Odegaard - 8/10 - Made a real effort to get things going for Arsenal, including the assist for both goals. Drifted out wide to make up for the limited creativity coming from there in Saka's absence.

CM: Declan Rice - 5/10 - Couldn't help the opening goal but this was far from Rice's best. A little sloppy when in shooting positions and struggled to find the pass through Everton's deep defensive block.

RW: Gabriel Martinelli - 7/10 - Really poor in the first half but raised his game after the break. Caused serious problems for Young when he finally decided to drive at him.

ST: Kai Havertz - 7/10 - Buzzed around trying to link up with those around him, but without Saka, it ended up looking a little sluggish at times. Popped up with the late winner.

LW: Leandro Trossard - 5/10 - Had to settle for sporadic moments on the ball as most of Arsenal's efforts were focused down the right.

Substitutes

SUB: Oleksandr Zinchenko (59' for Gabriel) - 5/10 - Didn't make the impact Arsenal would have been looking for.

SUB: Jurrien Timber (69' for White) - 6/10

SUB: Emile Smith Rowe (69' for Partey) - 5/10

SUB: Gabriel Jesus (78' for Trossard) - 5/10

Subs not used: Aaron Ramsdale (GK), Jakub Kiwior, Fabio Vieira, Eddie Nketiah

Manager

Mikel Arteta - 5/10 - Arsenal made incredibly hard work of this and looked incredibly sluggish for a large part of this game, although a number of poor individual showings did not help his cause.

Everton player ratings (4-4-1-1)

GK: Jordan Pickford - 7/10 - Made a handful of smart saves early on when Arsenal were threatening to run away with the game.

RB: Seamus Coleman - 6/10 - Had to sit back to contain Trossard but did a pretty good job of slowing things down on his side.

CB: James Tarkowski - 7/10 - Flung himself in front of everything to try and keep Arsenal at bay. Led by example with some excellent challenges.

CB: Jarrad Branthwaite - 6/10 - Was chasing shadows on occasion but largely held his own against Arsenal's stagnant forward line.

LB: Ashley Young - 4/10 - Comfortable against Martinelli in the first half before struggling in the second and gifting the winning goal to Havertz.

RM: James Garner - 5/10 - Offered nothing in attack and was clearly not sure how to help out Coleman in defence.

CM: Idrissa Gana Gueye - 7/10 - Some good fortune with his goal but Gueye deserved that luck with a performance that was full of energy.

CM: Amadou Onana - 7/10 - Bullied Partey with real ease despite suffering an early injury scare. His many suitors will have been impressed.

LM: Dwight McNeil - 6/10 - Unselfish defensively but also had a handful of bright moments going forwards.

AM: Abdoulaye Doucoure - 6/10 - Had to do a lot of defending but contributed to Everton's power in the midfield battle.

ST: Dominic Calvert-Lewin - 7/10 - Fed off scraps mainly but caused real problems whenever he did get involved. Unlucky to his the post in the first half.

Substitutes

SUB: Youssef Chermiti (74' for Calvert-Lewin) - 5/10

SUB: Beto (90' for Doucoure) - N/A

Subs not used: Joao Virginia (GK), Billy Crellin (GK), Michael Keane, Ben Godfrey, MacKenzie Hunt, Lewis Warrington, Lewis Dobbin

Manager

Sean Dyche - 7/10 - Everton set up to frustrate Arsenal perfectly, although Dyche's decision to withdraw Calvert-Lewin did leave them without an effective outlet for the final 15 minutes.

Player of the match - Martin Odegaard (Arsenal)

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