Everton's wafer-thin squad is already feeling the strain of a gruelling Premier League season after champions Arsenal defeated them in the most routine of fashions at the Emirates Stadium. The Blues' lack of options in key areas was laid bare as injuries and absences forced players into unfamiliar positions.
Jack Grealish was missing through sickness for Arsenal, but David Moyes' problems were more acute. A fortnight earlier, he deployed Jarrad Branthwaite at left-back during Everton's previous away game, a decision questioned by many given the England international's quality. Branthwaite, restricted to just 10 outings last season due to hamstring problems, picked up a knock in East Yorkshire but was fit to return to central defence against Chelsea. He was absent here due to concussion procedure rather than a fresh injury.
Defensive Crisis Deepens
Vitalii Mykolenko, the Blues' only natural left-back, endured a torrid time before being forced off through injury. That setback ensured James Garner, who started last season in the position when the Ukraine international was sidelined, ended the match filling in.
Following a promising start to the campaign, going eight games unbeaten in all competitions, those lack of options are now starting to bite. The shambolic end to the transfer window, when The Friedkin Group seemingly turned off the financial tap, left Everton's squad lopsided and chronically short of numbers overall.
Right-Back Conundrum
Ainsley Maitland-Niles, the new right-back Moyes waited almost 20 months to bring into the club, was denied an emotional return here after varying degrees of culpability in both Hull City's goals against Everton and Chelsea's opener the previous weekend. With Merlin Rohl taking his place and Jake O'Brien having reprised the role he played under Moyes, the 29-year-old's position in the pecking order is unclear. Ahead of the fixture, Alan Smith told the ECHO that he didn't even think of Maitland-Niles as a "proper" defender.
There wasn't much proper defending from anyone in the Blues side just seven minutes into the contest as Arsenal were gifted the kind of goal you might see from the Dog and Duck in Sunday League football. Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford and Harrison Armstrong both went for the same ball as it bounced down, Mykolenko took a swipe at thin air and Ezri Konsa bundled in from point blank range.
No Let-Up Ahead
In Grealish's absence, Tyrique George looked like Everton's most purposeful attacking option, combining well with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall at times. There was nothing clearcut though, and when another Arsenal centre-back found the net on 68 minutes, the game was abruptly over as a contest. Mykolenko allowed Ben White to get past him and put in a lofted cross for Gabriel at the back post, who guided the ball into the net off his face.
This result was never going to define the campaign, but there is no let-up when Everton return to action. They have three games in the space of seven days, the results of which could shape the direction of their season.
