Arsenal vs Everton: Five Wins in Six Says It All

Five wins from six. Eight goals scored, only five conceded across that run. Arsenal come into Saturday's matchweek 8 Premier League fixture against Everton looking every bit like a side that knows what it wants and how to get it. A 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest, then a 2-1 victory over Leeds United — quiet, efficient, ruthless when they needed to be. The one blemish is a 3-0 loss to Brighton that still stings a bit, let's be honest, but Arsenal have answered that with back-to-back wins since. This is a team with serious forward momentum.

The creative engine behind a lot of that is Declan Rice, who has chipped in with 4 assists from midfield across 7 appearances without scoring a single goal — a very specific kind of influence that doesn't always make the headlines but absolutely shapes how Arsenal play. Bukayo Saka has 3 goals and 10 key passes from the right, Martin Ødegaard has contributed 2 goals and 13 key passes in 7 apps, and David Raya has kept 4 clean sheets while making 15 saves. The system hums. Riccardo Calafiori, operating at left back, has somehow contributed 1 goal and 2 assists this season, which is the sort of production you'd expect from a forward, not a defender. The squad depth is real too — Noni Madueke has a goal and 8 key passes in just 157 minutes of football, which is a decent return for a player pushing for more game time. Arsenal are missing William Saliba and Christos Tzolis, which is not ideal, but 23 players remain available and the options across the pitch are formidable.

Everton, by contrast, come here on W1 D4 L1 in their last six, having conceded 7 goals across that run. A 0-2 loss to Chelsea most recently, a 2-2 draw at Hull before that, and only a 1-0 win over Ipswich to point to as genuine momentum. Here's the thing though — Everton are not a pushover. Thierno Barry leads their attack with 3 goals in 7 appearances, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has 2 goals, 1 assist and a remarkable 17 key passes this season, and James Tarkowski has weighed in with a goal and an assist from centre back in 7 apps. Jordan Pickford has made 21 saves in 7 appearances and kept 3 clean sheets, which tells you Everton have been competitive in most of these matches even when the results haven't gone their way. This is a side that can make life difficult in a match preview sense — they're organised, they've got a top scorer in Barry, and they defend with real structure through Tarkowski and Jarrad Branthwaite.

Still, the gap in form between these two sides is hard to argue away. Arsenal's record across 7 Premier League matches reads W6 D0 L1 with 11 goals scored. Everton sit at W2 D4 L1. The Gunners attack through multiple channels, their defenders contribute in the final third, and their goalkeeper makes the saves when called upon. Saturday afternoon should go Arsenal's way — and comfortably.

Clubs in this story

Everton Arsenal Nottingham Forest Leeds United Chelsea