Everton's position in the Premier League table is not the only thing slipping - their goal difference is too. Back-to-back 2-0 defeats, at home to Chelsea and now away to Arsenal, have dropped the Blues to ninth with a -1 goal difference.
Despite the long wait for a win at the Emirates Stadium and Highbury before that, Everton were always likely to lose to the defending champions, who have now won their last seven Premier League matches at home. However, the manner of the goals conceded will frustrate David Moyes and his players, continuing a similar story from the previous two weekends.
Set-piece errors prove costly
Teams as expensively assembled as Chelsea and Arsenal have the quality, both in their starting XIs and off the bench, to open you up. While those sides ultimately deserved to beat Everton, Moyes and his coaching staff will be frustrated with how the deciding goals came about.
The Blues defended valiantly throughout, particularly captain James Tarkowski, his centre-back partner Jake O'Brien and young midfielder Harrison Armstrong. It is hard to recall Jordan Pickford having a serious save to make, but they let themselves down when conceding from a corner for the first time this season.
Arsenal are well-documented dead-ball experts, but this was actually their first non-penalty set-piece goal of the 2026-27 campaign. They were given a helping hand, with Pickford flapping at a punch and Vitalii Mykolenko failing to clear before Ezri Konsa bundled it home. The second goal came from a second phase following a corner, with Gabriel Magalheas left completely unmarked to head home Ben White's delivery, as was substitute Kai Havertz.
Attack fails to click
Everton were missing Jarrad Branthwaite, but the star defender was in the team for the preceding games against Chelsea and Hull City, when they also gave away two poor goals. With resources limited after a shocking end to the transfer window under wantaway owners The Friedkin Group, the Blues are not going to create a glut of chances, so it is essential they stop gifting goals at the other end.
That said, Everton did have opportunities in north London. They responded well to Konsa's seventh-minute opener with James Garner testing David Raya, who spilled the midfielder's shot before gathering the loose ball when Armstrong looked set to pounce. Raya also saved from Thierno Barry, while Tyrique George and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall went close either side of the break. But the Blues ended the encounter with a meagre 0.48 xG.
Everton missed Jack Grealish, who is averaging 2.6 chances created per 90 so far this season, but their attack has not clicked in the past two matches. Brennan Johnson struggled most, touching the ball just 10 times during his 72 minutes, while his replacement Tyler Dibling, who was ready to come on when Gabriel doubled Arsenal's lead, touched it 24 times. Should Grealish return for Thursday's Carabao Cup last-16 tie at home to Newcastle United, it may be time to give Dibling a chance from the start.
Referee frustration
The travelling Evertonians were more worried about getting back to their cars, coaches and trains after another miserable trip. But the players and Moyes were furious with referee Tony Harrington, who they felt had given the Gunners far too many 50-50 decisions, particularly in the first half.
At the end of the opening period, Moyes was caught speaking sternly to Harrington, who at one stage inexplicably stopped a promising attack because Gabriel had gone down with a leg injury - the Brazilian was fine. Harrington later booked Moyes, who said: "I don't know. I felt for (the referee) today because I thought he was really poor, so I felt for him." Skipper Tarkowski also had to bite his lip in his post-game interviews.
While not the reason they lost, Harrington's performance would not have helped the mood as Everton made the journey back to Merseyside to prepare for the visit of Newcastle, an important one.
