Arsenal the Gunners after stumbling against Fulham in their last English premier league (EPL) game cannot afford to drop an inch point which is up for grab in the round sixteen match against Everton today, December 14, 2024.
More so, Everton would approach the game against EPL title contending side with a lot of believe and confidence as they thrashed Wolverhampton Wanderers last week by four goals without conceding after their failure to clinch a win in their last four games prior to the Wolves game.
Further, as the Gunners are not seeking to replicate their 1-1 draw score line in their last game against Fulham, Everton would look back on their last game which they ended up deriving some what impressive results which will certainly be a morale booster for them as they hope to even gain a point out of the game.
Meanwhile, both side are heading to this crucial game without their full compliment; Mikel Arteta would not have his summer signee, Riccardo Calafiori, Tomiyasu and Ben White due to various forms of injuries they have sustained while Everton would also miss Garnerand Iroegbunam who are also sustained lower back injury and ankle injury respectively.
Excerpts from Mikel Arteta’s pre-match conference:
The Gunners manager was asked to provide the availability of some players who had sustained injuries in the previous games, “Gabriel Magalhaes has trained with the team and he could be availble vs Everton. Unfortunately Calafiori is not ready yet.”
One journalist swayed away from the game as he quizzed for more details with respect to Arsenal’s intentions as the January winter transfer window is fast approaching, “I never expect January to be super busy… but some surprises always come. Hopefully the availability of the squad is going to be better in recent weeks.”
Arteta further reacted to the subject of, Myles Lewis-Skelly, an academy graduate, whether he is going to have a chance in playing more often for the first team in Arsenal’s subsequent games.
“We believed he could help the team to win the game and he certainly did that. We trust him. You always take a chance. It doesn’t matter the experience or age. He was surrounded by very experienced players,” he said.
Plus, he sounded very doubtful when asked about what he makes of the bunch of games clubs are made to feature in for a season, “it’s a real possibility to see shorter football games in near future. We have changed the Champions League format so it’s very real possibility.”
