There are never surprises when Arsenal come up against a Sean Dyche side.
They sit deep, they tackle hard, they slow the pace, they wait for the set pieces; it’s a system that has served Dyche well – as far as Premier League survival is a measure of success – and it’s an approach to the game he doesn’t depart from.
The advantage to that, at least from an Arsenal perspective, is that we can plan our approach with almost complete confidence that the opponent is going to play as expected. Overcoming it, however, is another, altogether more difficult, task.
The last time we were at Goodison Park, Dyche was new in the job and he wasted no time in introducing his brand of football. The hosts were very physical, full of running, and got their goal from a set piece. Arsenal were in flying form going into that game so it was fair to say it was quite a significant set-back in what was otherwise a productive period for us. More galling than anything was the fact that, just a few weeks earlier, we would have been facing an Everton side coached by Frank Lampard and we would have won handsomely.
Although Dyche was able to keep Everton in the Premier League last season, there has been little sign of improvement in their fortunes. They’ve managed just a single point from their opening four maches of the season and have shipped eight goals while scoring only two.
Needless to say, therefore, this is a match Arsenal should be looking to win, and win comfortably.
But, for reasons unknown, we have a particularly bad record at Goodison and our hosts, hirtherto appalling at both ends of the pitch, are certain to play like Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea circa 2006. We must break this irritating hoodoo.
Early goals are going to be crucial. As last season showed us, the longer Everton can cling on in the game, the greater the chance of them stealing a goal from nothing. Their focus will be entirely on stopping us playing and we must be ready for it.
In games like these, quick movement and quick passing are so important. Slow, ponderous, sideways passing is exactly what a side coached by Dyche wants. They can deal with slow ball and speculative crosses until the cows come home. We have to be smarter, we have to be more dynamic.
To that end, I expect Mikel Arteta will look to focus his play down the wings, where Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Matinelli are likely to be key.
Despite his recent good form, I’m not sure Fabio Vieira starts ahead of Kai Havertz, whose physical presence will offer us more in this match, but the Portuguese will very much be in the mix if attacking substitutions are required.
Outside of that, the only real question mark is who starts up top. Gabriel Jesus is arguably the most apt to deal with the physicality of the home defence, though Eddie Nketiah has shown himself to be no lightweight when it comes to the tussle.
It’s worth bearing in mind, however, that the manager has a lot of football to play in the next few weeks and we may start to see some serious squad rotation, if not today then almost certainly in midweek. That means opportunities for the likes of Trossard, Vieira, Smith Rowe, Nelson, Kiwior and others. For many, this will be a significant period.
Beforw we get into the meat of things, however, we have to deal with the entree, and that means three points against Everton. They hold the home advantage here and history has been kind to them in this fixture of late too. Despite their generally horrible form, they will be bouyed for this match and we can expect a deeply uncomfortable afternoon.
If we’re to come through it, we’ll need to score early and score plenty.
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