Arsenal travel to the north-west to take on Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday and predictions have been made ahead of the encounter.
The Gunners sit 12 points behind league leaders Liverpool with eight games remaining, with the Reds’ victory over their Merseyside rivals in midweek killing any remaining hope Mikel Arteta’s team had of remaining in the Premier League title race.
Real Madrid await Arsenal in the Champions League next week, with this game against Everton key to building momentum ahead of the European showdown.
Arsenal were held to a 0-0 draw in the reverse fixture at the Emirates in December and will be hoping to improve on this result at Goodison this weekend.
- READ MORE: Predicted Arsenal XI vs Everton as Mikel Arteta faces decision over Gabriel Magalhaes replacement
Paul Merson predicts Everton vs Arsenal
Arsenal will be without Gabriel Magalhaes for this match, after the Brazilian sustained a serious hamstring injury against Fulham that will sideline him for the rest of the season.
Ben White and Jurrien Timber face late fitness tests to determine their availability, with Arteta potentially having to pick from a depleted defensive cohort on Merseyside.
Paul Merson believes that these issues, along with the Gunners boss potentially resting some key players with Real Madrid in mind, will cause Arsenal to lose to Everton.
Writing for Sportskeeda, the pundit said: “This is a hard game for Arsenal. They are definitely out of the Premier League title race. Liverpool will now have to lose half of their games, while Arsenal win all their remaining matches, for it to change and that is impossible!
“Mikel Arteta’s men also have the big game against Real Madrid coming up next week.
“I fully believe Arsenal will rest some key players for this game. Look at what happened to Gabriel Magalhaes. They can’t risk any more injuries.
“I don’t see the point in playing Martin Odegaard, Declan Rice or William Saliba against Everton. If any of them three players get injured, Arsenal shouldn’t even bother turning up for the Real Madrid game!
“If Arsenal play their strongest team, they will win this fixture 1-0. But I have a feeling they will play weakened XI after the injury to Gabriel and as such, I’m backing Everton to win this.”
Score prediction: Everton 2-1 Arsenal
Chris Sutton makes Everton vs Arsenal prediction
If Arteta does opt to rest all three of Saliba, Rice and Odegaard like Merson suggests he does, then he’ll end up fielding a very makeshift side.
The likes of Oleksandr Zinchenko, Jorginho and Kieran Tierney could even come in from the start in the former Arsenal forward’s scenario.
Like Merson, Chris Sutton is convinced that the Gunners will drop points at Goodison.
Writing for BBC Sport, he said: “This is going to be difficult for Arsenal. Everton defended so well against Liverpool on Wednesday, and they carried a real threat too, with Beto running in behind.
“Bukayo Saka was back for the Gunners against Fulham and he will obviously boost their attack but they have picked up a few defensive injuries, including Gabriel being out for the rest of the season.
“Mikel Arteta’s side have got Tuesday’s Champions League tie with Real Madrid to think about and, on top of that, this is an early kick-off to deal with too. None of that helps.
“I want Arsenal to keep on winning to put some pressure on Liverpool but Everton drew 0-0 at Emirates Stadium in December, when Sean Dyche was in charge, and everything points towards a similar outcome this time.”
Score prediction: Everton 1-1 Arsenal
Everton have enjoyed something of a resurgence under Moyes, with the loss to Liverpool in midweek just the Toffees second league defeat in eleven games since he returned.
They’re yet to concede more than two goals in a game, and thus, breaking the deadlock will be a tough task for a blunt Arsenal side.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
