Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard believes Everton have "a lot of quality" and that his side learned valuable lessons in their defeat at Goodison Park last month.
He highlighted the Blues' role in strengthening the Gunners' title ambitions in programme notes that showcased just how well Everton performed in that game. The Blues were unable to replicate those same levels on Wednesday night but were competitive before Buakayo Saka gave the hosts a lead just before half-time.
After they went behind, Everton were unable to land a glove on Arsenal and too many disturbing themes of this season re-emerged on Sean Dyche's hardest night in his new role. From Odegaard's praise of the Blues to Onana's feud with players, the referee and opposition supporters, here are a few points of interest that may have been missed amid last night's game.
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The important role Everton have played in Arsenal's title bid
It was just weeks ago that Everton beat Arsenal 1-0, a result that caused Arsenal to stumble in their pursuit of the title. They went on to draw to Brentford and lose to Manchester City in the games that followed before requiring late goals to overcome Aston Villa.
For Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard the trip to Merseyside was a defining moment in his side's season and contained valuable lessons. He wrote in his programme notes: "What we learned from that game is that every single team in this league is difficult to play against. They played really well against us in that game, defended very deep and when they attacked our box they put crosses in as soon as possible... we also learned that we have to be at our very best in each game we play, and the last time we faced them we weren't, so it's up to us to put that right this evening.
"We don't look at their league position because we know they got a result against Manchester City recently and they beat us, so that tells you they have a lot of quality. They are effective when they attack, they are good on set pieces and if you are not ready for them, they will punish you."
Amadou Onana's running battle
Amadou Onana was a dominating presence in the heart of Everton's midfield when the Blues beat Arsenal at Goodison. It was one of his best performances for the club and one that added weight to the late transfer window speculation that suggested he was being scouted by Champions League-chasing clubs.
He was busy in the first half at the Emirates and caught in the face in the first minute as he attempted to win the ball. He attracted the anger of home fans because he went down clutching his face on several occasions, but the Belgium midfielder was hard done by - particular after being caught by Gabriel. The Arsenal defender stepped across him and caught the 21-year-old in a foul missed by referee Michael Oliver, who waved play on.
The home fans enjoyed the rejection of calls for a free-kick and Onana waved his arm in frustration as they jeered him when he got up. What happened from the 40th minute onwards prevented this game from being about Onana's presence and ability but while some sections of the Arsenal support were viewing him as a villain, he was playing an intriguing role while Everton were in this game.
Leandro Trossard's 'yelp' as James Tarkowski makes his presence known
Arsenal ran out comfortable winners but for 40 minutes Everton made them work hard and barely conceded a chance against one of the Premier League's most potent outfits. Crucial to this was James Tarkowski, who was dominant in and around the edge of the Blues box.
Before the deadlock he formed a useful defensive unit with Vitalii Mykolelnko and Dwight McNeil that largely contained the threat from Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka. Tarkowski was too strong for either when challenging for loose balls created by the disruption in front of them caused by their midfield.
Around 30 minutes in it looked as though Tarkowski was enjoying his task when he shepherded Leandro Trossard to the left flank. Trossard shimmied both ways but was unable to escape Tarkowski and then fell in a heap in front of the linesman, letting out a yelp that could be heard from the nearby press box. The linesman refused to fall for it and Tarkowski forcefully prodded the loose ball out for a throw in and appeared to take satisfaction from Trossard's failure to get beyond him or win a free-kick as he looked down at the Arsenal attacker.
Holgate in central midfield not a spontaneous gimmick
Mason Holgate entered the fray at half time with the game all but over for Everton. He did so in the less familiar role of central midfield, replacing Idrissa Gueye - whose moment of chaos proved costly as it enabled the hosts to double their lead just before half-time. Holgate, who had a solid run at centre back once he replaced Ben Godfrey in the season opener against Chelsea and until he suffered an injury at Brentford, last played in this position away at Burnley towards the end of the last campaign.
Dyche, of course, was in the opposite dugout then and so will have witnessed Holgate in that role - his effectiveness undermined at Turf Moor that day by an early yellow card. Dyche also played Holgate in that role during a behind-closed-doors friendly against Stockport last month. So while it may have been an experiment influenced by Gueye's error for Arsenal's second goal, Dyche had pondered such a move in advance of Wednesday night.
Conor Coady first out of the tunnel for the Blues
Conor Coady has been an ever-present in the Everton starting line up since his loan move from Wolves was secured after Yerry Mina and Ben Godfrey suffered serious injuries in the first game of this season. But at Arsenal the England centre back found himself on the bench, replaced by Michael Keane.
Before the match, Dyche explained the decision: “Fine lines of getting a performance out of them, three games in a week. We're working with the squad as we find it on a week-by-week basis.”
Coady was not able to lead the side out on Wednesday - as he did against West Ham when both Seamus Coleman and Jordan Pickford, the two players Frank Lampard had ahead of Coady for the captaincy, did not start - but he was still the first Everton player to emerge from the tunnel. Out ahead of all of the other substitutes he took his place on the bench early and was joined by Asmir Begovic in the seat beside him.
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