Arsenal remain top of the Premier League table despite their 1-0 defeat against Everton at Goodison Park. The Gunners' rise to becoming Premier League title challengers under Mikel Arteta has taken many by surprise this season after they missed out on a top four spot at the end of the 2021/22 campaign.
Arsenal have one of the youngest squads in the English top-flight and today was the first time they looked as though they lacked experience in dealing with a difficult away atmosphere against a stubborn defence. Sean Dyche has proved to be a thorn in Arteta's side before and he got the better of the Spaniard once again this afternoon as James Tarkowski's header made the difference on Merseyside.
A handful of decisions went against the north Londoners but ultimately they were second-best throughout the match against the Toffees as Arsenal's attack was kept quiet and were undone by a dangerous set-piece at the back.
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The Gunners have shown they are capable of maintaining their strong mentality and bouncing back from setbacks, which have been rare this term, and now Arteta will hope his players can do the same once again as their focus turns to preparations ahead of the clash against Brentford next week.
Arsenal have been described in the past as being 'easy to play against' and 'soft', but that is not the case this season. The Gunners have proven they can handle themselves in tough situations and Arteta has been key to changing the perception surrounding the current Premier League leaders.
Speaking exclusively to football.london, Tarkowski admitted that this Arsenal team is very different to those he has played against in the past, despite the Toffees taking all three points against them on Saturday.
The Everton defender said: "This is a different Arsenal team to those I've played against in the last few years.
"They're the best team in the league at the minute, they've been flying. But today was about us [Everton].
"The determination, the grit that we showed. The quality was there, we had some good chances in the first half that we could've put away, we defended really well, we were tight as a unit and got the result we needed."
Tarkowski's comments highlight how teams are now adapting when they face the Gunners which is a huge compliment to the work Arteta and his staff have done since taking over at the Emirates Stadium. The Spaniard must now find a solution so that his side can continue to win games when coming up against teams that sit back and soak up pressure.
Newcastle proved that they can stop the north London outfit from playing how they want to earlier this season with the Magpies picking up a hard-earned point away from home against the Gunners, and other teams are using a similar blueprint to nullify Arsenal. Everton packed the midfield when out of possession and looked to press high, forcing Arsenal long when they would rather play intricate passes and cut teams open.
Jorginho failed to make an impact on his debut, whilst Leandro Trossard struggled to have a positive influence in attack off the bench as the Gunners looked to change things up during the second half against the Toffees. Arteta must find a quick fix and put together a 'plan B' when facing teams further down the table compared to Arsenal to continue their evolution and title challenge.
Manchester City and Liverpool have shown in the past that you can't win every game by a comfortable margin on your way to a title. This is something Arsenal must learn from quickly if they are to maintain their lead ahead of Pep Guardiola's side until the end of the season.
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