Everton gained a much-needed 2-1 victory against Arsenal at the Goodison, which might keep Rafa Benitez at the job for a little longer. Although Martin Odegaard opened the scoring just before the first half ended, Richarlison and Demarai Gray scored late into the game as the Toffees emerged victorious after eight games without registering a win.
The game turned out to be pretty dramatic, as it turns out, with Richarlison being flagged offside by the barest of margins on two occasions when he scored the goal, but he got lucky the third time. But the bigger talking point was Ben Godfrey’s challenge on Takehiro Tomiyasu.
The incident happened in the first half of the game, when Mike Dean had to stop play after finding out that Tomiyasu was down with his chin bleeding. Replays suggested that Godfrey had stamped on the Japanese defender’s face, and since the VAR and Mike Dean had deemed it accidental, the 23-year-old escaped severe punishment.
However, former Manchester United captain Gary Neville was unimpressed with the referee’s decision and suggested that Godfrey was incredibly lucky to not be sent off. He also accused the defender of stepping on Tomiyasu’s face intentionally, and said he was well aware of what he was doing.
“You’re talking to two of the masters of trying to make it look accidental,” Neville explained. “We think he definitely means that. However, I can see why VAR has said it’s accidental, you couldn’t prove it… but as a professional you know.”
his partner in the studio, Jamie Carragher, added that he was a “Very lucky boy” to avoid sanctions.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, who has now suffered two straight defeats in the North to Manchester United and Everton, wasn’t keen on stressing on the decision taken by the referee, and he in turn demanded a lot more from his players. The Gunners had some splendid chances to add to Martin Odegaard’s goal, but were not clinical enough inside the box to clinch the game.
Arteta, the former Everton midfielder, has now suffered his sixth defeat of the season, adding further pressure on the Spaniard as frustration grows among Arsenal’s faithful.
