Arsenal´s Premier League season continued to crumble on the weekend as the Gunners crashed to another humiliating defeat against a Top Four rival. The team traveled to Goodison Park to play fifth placed Everton and was soundly beaten 3-0 to put qualification for the Champions League in doubt.
Picking apart the when´s and why´s of Arsenal´s decline is no easy task, but it seems a simple case of being another season where the club has flattered to deceive. Just two months ago the club was top of the league and this campaign had the air of something different about it. Now in April the Gunners are out of the title race and are clinging onto 4th place. Just as worrying is the fact Arsenal has shipped 20 goals against rival Top Four clubs (6-3 Man City, 6-0 Chelsea, 5-1 Liverpool, and 3-0 on Sunday). It is a humiliating run that shows that the current squad is not up to the task of a sustained title challenge, at least mentally.
Sadly, Everton deserved to win the game, looking sharper and more skillful, and actually reminding of Arsenal teams of old. You know, the ones with a steely heart that could mix it with both skill and brawn. We have known for some time that Arsene Wenger´s current assembled ensemble is no match for his perfectly built teams of old, but this season has served as a starker wakeup call than most. The FA Cup may deliver a long awaited trophy, or it may not, but even a cup win would not stop the campaign from being a relative failure.
Everton took the lead in the 14th minute when the ever threatening Romelu Lukaku had a shot saved by Arsenal stopper Wojciech Szczesny. The ball kindly found its way to Steven Naismith, who slotted home for 1-0. The Toffees doubled their advantage 10 minutes before half time when Lukaku dazzled with a run and finish. The rout was completed in the 62nd minute when former Everton midfielder Mikel Arteta scored an own goal for 3-0.
In between the goals Everton was the better team. Driven by the ever impressive Ross Barkley, the Merseyside club pressurized and outplayed the Gunners, despite the stats seemingly favouring Arsenal. The win put Everton one point behind Arsenal with a game in hand, their quest for 4th place now in their own hands. Arsenal will need to hope Everton drop points in the remaining five games to qualify for the Champions League.