Everton 0 Arsenal 1

Last updated : 11 February 2002 By Austin Rathe

It's not that we were brilliant, but neither were Arsenal and we more than matched them for commitment, hard work, and at times, for quality. The latter was mainly down to the performance of David Ginola, who silenced his critics (me included) after about 10 minutes. He was at the heart of everything that Everton did well, and when Radzinski is back and we have him and Blomqvist on the wings, we might even score some goals.

Ginola went close twice in the early stages of the game, firstly forcing a save from Wright with a stinging shot from the left hand side of the box. Moments later he struck a post with a beautifully directed free kick. Whilst all of this was going on, Lee Carsley was settling in well into the midfield and things were looking good. Campbell was leading the line well, and the other recent signing Lineroth looked composed in midfield.

Half an hour of the match had passed before Thierry Henry tested Steve Simonsen, who easily smothered the striker's long-range effort. From a neutrals point of view the games probably wasn't that exciting, but from my seat in the stands seeing Ginola and Blomqvist playing exciting football was great too see. It has to be said that Blomqvist is too left footed to play on the right wing, and as soon as possible, he should be moved back.

Arsenal had three players booked in the first half, they whine about referees, but all three were deserved, and they were lucky not to lose Henry for the two footed challenge later in the game. The less said about that the better.

After the break Arsenal came out fighting and Everton were pushed back, although we seemed to be coping ok with the pressure. Ginola was more subdued, and Kevin Campbell seemed to give up. I can't see how WS can justify playing Campbell when, like this game, when he can't be bothered he simply looks for free kicks instead of trying to lead the line, as he had done so well in the first half.

The visitors went close through Parlour before Wiltord gave them the lead. His outstretched leg miss-hit the ball and it looped over the stranded Simonsen. It was ironic that the top goal scorers in the league had practically no chances and won via a lucky stab.

Everton's heads dropped after that point and we never really looked dangerous. However, we should have had a penalty when Stubbs was pulled down in the box. Alas, it was not to be. There are many positives that one can take out of this game, and we should not be too down about it. We need points, but if we play like this every week, we won't have a problem. Oh, and David Ginola, I apologize for ever doubting you !