Our Arsenal week 24 match review covers Arsenal’s games against Leicester and Everton. Arsenal continued their winning ways with a 1-0 win against Leicester City at the King Power Stadium on Saturday and followed that up with a 4-0 rout of Everton at the Emirates. These two wins put the Gunners five points clear of Manchester City with 60 points. Let’s get into the match review.
Arsenal Week 24 Match Review: The Positives
Arsenal Held Leicester Scoreless and Didn’t Give Away a Single Corner
Arsenal’s defense was rock solid in this match. Aside from the clean sheet, Arsenal limited Leicester City to only a single shot. Leicester also did not manage to get a single shot on target against the Gunners in this match. The Gunners also did not allow Leicester to win a single corner in this match. As a result, Leicester had few opportunities to threaten Arsenal’s defense in a set-piece situation.
The Gunners’ defense helped them dominate this match. The 1-0 score line paints a more positive picture of this match for Leicester, but Arsenal was clearly the better side throughout nearly all of the 90 minutes. In addition to shutting down Leicester’s attack, Arsenal also created plenty of chances of their own.
Arsenal Week 24 Match Review: Arsenal Kept Another Clean Sheet against Everton
Arsenal’s defense was excellent against Everton, keeping a clean sheet and restricting Everton to only eight shots for the entire match. Everton got five shots on target but Ramsdale made five saves and preserved Arsenal’s clean sheet. Interestingly, Everton’s attack fared better against Arsenal’s defense than Leicester’s attack, but neither team was able to score against the Gunners regardless.
Arsenal Week 24 Match Review: Gabriel and Saliba Were Excellent
Gabriel and Saliba were rock-solid in defense for Arsenal in this match. They handled any danger calmly and effectively. Leicester rarely created good chances, but even when they had a decent chance, Saliba and Gabriel defended very well to make the opportunity more challenging for the Leicester players.
Gabriel and Saliba played quite well against Everton, too. The two of them responded to any danger quickly but calmly. They got in a few good blocks and reliably won aerial duels to further prevent Everton from creating chances. Saliba and Gabriel are forming a wonderful partnership in Arsenal’s defense and their complimentary skillsets mix together to create a formidable obstacle for any attackers who do end up with opportunities to score.
Ramsdale Had Two Good Games
Ramsdale also had quite a good game. He made a couple of saves when necessary. He also distributed the ball well and didn’t make any errors in this match. Ramsdale made five saves against Everton.
He certainly had more to do against Everton than he did against Leicester, but Ramsdale was up to the challenge. Ramsdale now has 11 clean sheets so far this season. Ramsdale also distributed the ball intelligently and remained calm when Everton put him under pressure.
Arsenal Dominated Possession Twice
Leicester City played a low block and looked to hit Arsenal on the counterattack, as many teams have done in recent weeks. That contributed to Arsenal dominating possession, with 66% possession compared to only 34% possession for Leicester. Still, this lack of possession for Leicester meant that they had trouble creating good chances and trying to score against the Gunners.
Arsenal enjoyed 73% possession against Everton. Everton played with a low block for the first half, but after going 2-0 down by halftime, they became more aggressive as they chased the game in the second half. Still, Everton only ended up with 27% possession in this game against Arsenal.
Zinchenko Was Captain Against Everton and Had Two Great Games
It must be noted that the match against Leicester took place on the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. As a result, Arsenal made Zinchenko captain for the match against Leicester. Zinchenko responded with an excellent performance. Zinchenko kept things tidy at the back, made good passes, and resisted Leicester’s press well.
Against Everton, Zinchenko had an even better performance. He provided the assist for Arsenal’s first goal as he passed it to Saka who scored the opening goal. Zinchenko continues to prove crucial for the Gunners.
Martinelli Scored Twice against Everton
It seems fair to say that Martinelli’s rough patch is over. He now has four goals in his last three Premier League games and seems full of confidence once more. Martinelli scored the winning goal against Leicester before scoring twice in Arsenal’s 4-0 win against Everton. Gabriel Martinelli’s return to form comes at an opportune time for Arsenal, who can also expect Gabriel Jesus to return relatively soon.
Arsenal Week 24 Match Review: Saka Continues to Shine
Saka played well against both Leicester and Everton. He failed to score against Leicester but still proved to be a handful for the right side of Leicester’s defense. Saka played even better against Everton, opening the scoring with a fantastic right-footed shot in the roof of the net. Bukyako Saka was extremely difficult for Everton to contain and he demonstrated why he is correctly considered one of the top right-wingers in all of world football.
Jorginho Played Well Against Leicester and Thomas Partey Followed Suit against Everton
Jorginho could prove to be a brilliant January signing for Arsenal. He played well against Leicester and showcased the experience, calmness, and range of passing that drew Arsenal’s attention in the first place. Jorginho provided a lovely through ball for Saka against Leicester, although nothing came of that chance. Jorginho’s passing has definitely helped Arsenal break through opposing teams’ low blocks and mid-blocks since he signed for the Gunners.
Partey came on for Jorginho in the second half against Everton and excelled. Partey resisted Everton’s press almost dismissively and shielded the Gunners’ defense. He made some good runs to help Arsenal attack with pace and venom, though he did pass up one opportunity to shoot from distance in the second half.
Odegaard Got Back on the Scoresheet against Everton
Odegaard had a pretty good game against Leicester. He created some good chances and made brilliant passes, as always. However, he did not manage to get a goal or an assist against Leicester.
Odegaard got back on the scoresheet against Everton, scoring Arsenal’s third goal to secure the points for the Gunners. Odegaard had a lively performance against Everton, providing his usual creativity in midfield and even making one smart tackle in the second half. Arsenal’s captain deserved his goal after a very good performance and hopefully, his goal against Everton will inspire him with confidence in front of the goal in future matches.
Trossard Got an Assist against Everton
Trossard sadly had a wonderful goal against Leicester disallowed. Still, he played well in that match and followed suit against Everton. He got the assist for Martinelli’s second goal against Everton.
Trossard’s versatility has allowed Arteta to field a front three of Saka, Martinelli, and Trossard. This front three pressured Leicester’s defense and overwhelmed Everton’s defense. Trossard looks to be another smart January signing for Arsenal.
Arsenal Week 24 Match Review: The Negatives
Leicester and VAR both frustrated Arsenal in the first half of that match. Arsenal only managed two shots on goal against Leicester and lacked a bit in terms of their execution in the final third. The Gunners could have been much more clinical against Leicester City.
Arsenal also struggled a bit in the first 35 minutes of the match against Everton. It took them until near the end of the first half to really turn on the pressure against Everton. These slow starts are a slight concern, but Arsenal will have an opportunity to work on that on Saturday against Bournemouth.
Arsenal gave away possession in some bad areas against both Leicester and Everton from time to time. Thankfully, none of that led to goals for the opposition. However, Arsenal will have to make sure to cut out these mistakes, especially as they play stronger teams later on in the season.
Jorginho struggled a bit against Everton in the first half. As a result, Arteta brought on Partey to replace him and Arsenal played much better against Everton with Partey in midfield. However, Jorginho has generally performed very well for Arsenal since his arrival, so one poor half shouldn’t worry supporters too much.
Man of the Match: Gabriel Magalhaes against Leicester and Gabriel Martinelli against Everton
Gabriel Magalhaes takes MOTM against Leicester in my opinion, amidst some stiff competition from the likes of Jorginho, Saliba, and Martinelli. Gabriel continues to handle his defensive duties with intelligence and ever-increasing composure. Gabriel Magalhaes shut down many of Leicester’s attacks and won several aerial duels to prevent Leicester from creating good chances via long balls over the top.
Martinelli scored the match-winning goal against Leicester and comes up just short of Gabriel Magalhaes for MOTM in that game, in my opinion. However, Martinelli gets MOTM against Everton as he scored twice and nearly got a hat-trick. Martinelli tormented Everton’s defense and showed exactly why Arsenal signed him to a lucrative contract extension. He has returned to form and should prove to be a threat to opposing defenses for the remainder of the season.
Manager Ratings: 8 for the Leicester Match and 9.5 for the Everton Match
Arteta gets an 8/10 rating for the away match against Leicester and a 9.5/10 rating for the home match against Everton. Arsenal dominated defensively against Leicester but failed to be clinical in front of the goal in that match. However, Arsenal dominated defensively against Everton and were far more clinical in front of the goal in that match.
Arteta’s substitutions against Leicester were sensible. However, substituting Thomas Partey for Jorginho against Everton proved to be the best substitution Arsenal made in these matches. Partey dominated the midfield against Everton. Arteta can also feel good about changing Arsenal’s starting front three to Saka, Martinelli, and Trossard since Arsenal has scored five goals in two matches since doing so.
Nketiah did make an impact off the bench against Everton, providing the assist for Martinelli’s second goal in that match. Arteta dropping Nketiah looks to be a good decision, although Nketiah will certainly continue to play a role for the remainder of the season.
Arsenal Has Now Won Three Consecutive Matches
Arsenal has now won three consecutive Premier League matches and kept two clean sheets in those three matches. The Gunners have 60 points after 25 Premier League games, only nine points shy of their total Premier League points last season. Arsenal remains home at the Emirates and plays Bournemouth on Saturday. I would bet on another Arsenal victory and likely a victory by multiple goals for the Gunners, considering the gap in quality between the two sides.
Check back next week for more Arsenal content.