The victory not only sends Arsenal (60 points) five points clear of two-time defending champions Manchester City, but also realigns the two sides (finally) on the same number of games played (25). The Gunners must still go to Etihad Stadium on April 26, with a chance to avenge one of their three Premier League defeats this season.
Everton (21 points), meanwhile, remain 18th in the table, still stuck in the relegation zone after back-to-back defeats and just one win (and one goal scored) since beating Arsenal on Sean Dyche’s debut on Feb. 4.
Arsenal took all of three shots in the first, as they went 35 minutes without a single effort in the general direction of Everton’s goal, let alone on goal. Sure, they had 70 percent of possession, but Dyche’s team did what Dyche’s teams do. So the Gunners kept passing, probing and pressing, and Saka was decisive and ruthless when finally, in the 40th minute, Oleksandr Zinchenko found the magical ball into the box.
Six minutes later, in first-half stoppage time, Saka once again wreaked havoc as Idrissa Gueye lazily walked the ball back toward his own goal, winning it back and send Martinelli through to beat Jordan Pickford one-on-one. In six minutes’ time, the Gunners answered so many questions about their title-winning credentials, their maturity and self-belief to stay the course in challenging times.
Commentator Peter Drury said it best, after Martinelli put home goal no. 4: “There is a gorgeous arrogance about Arsenal now.”
Stars of the show
Photo: FotMob.com
What’s next?
Arsenal will continue their title quest on Saturday (10 am ET), when they welcome Bournemouth, another relegation-threatened side, to north London. Everton will visit Nottingham Forest, who find themselves quickly slipping back toward the bottom-three, on Sunday (9 am ET).
How to watch Arsenal vs Everton live, stream link and start time
Kick off: 2:45pm ET, Wednesday TV Channel: USA Network Online: Stream via NBCSports.com
Key storylines & in-form players to watch
The Gunners weren’t at their free-flowing best against Leicester last time out but they didn’t need to be. They dominated possession and Leicester barely had a chance. Arteta’s side are showing they can win games in different ways and with Trossard, Martinelli, Saka, Nketiah and Odegaard all chipping in with key goals at different times, they look set to sustain this title push until the very end of the season.
Everton’s issues have been scoring goals and they created some great openings against Villa but just couldn’t finish. They have scored just 17 goals this season which is the lowest number in the Premier League. They will try and keep things tight at the back and hope to cause havoc from set-piece situations at the Emirates.