Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang have both scored in three of the past five matches they have played together (Image credit: Getty Images)
Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech says the Gunners are building momentum after his man-of-the-match performance helped Unai Emery’s side see off Everton for a fourth successive Premier League win.
Two goals in three second-half minutes gave the hosts victory and took them up to sixth in the Premier League table.
Following a tight first half, in which Dominic Calvert-Lewin squandered a fine second-minute opening for Everton, the Gunners asserted control after the break.
Alexandre Lacazette swept a curling shot into the top corner from the edge of the area after Aaron Ramsey’s pass.
Shortly after, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang poked in from close range after Mesut Ozil broke down the right, cut the ball back and Ramsey nudged it into the path of the Gabon international.
Replays suggested that Aubameyang was offside from Ramsey’s touch, though Everton could have few complaints from that point with Marco Silva’s side looking vulnerable on the break as they attempted to find a response.
Arsenal had opened the season with defeats against Manchester City and Chelsea and Cech told BBC Sport: “We had two difficult games to start with, and having lost both you need to find a way to pick yourself up, but now we have four wins in a row which is creating a momentum, and I think it helped us to get through the game.”
“Everton created a lot of chances in the first half and we had to stick together and wait for our opportunity to score, which made the difference.”
Ruthless Arsenal punish Toffees
Everton had looked the more likely to score for 56 minutes at the Emirates, until Lacazette rifled in a superb opener.
Two minutes and 57 seconds later, the visitors were two goals down.
The Gunners had managed just one shot on target in the first half, with Jordan Pickford making a smart save from Nacho Monreal, but their superior quality in attack showed after the break as the club’s two most expensive signings quickly put the game beyond the Toffees.
Aubameyang appeared to be offside for the second, but Ozil was given time and space to pick out Ramsey in the build-up as a shell-shocked Everton left young full-back Jonjoe Kenny to deal with a three-on-one situation in their own area.
Aubameyang and Lacazette are forming a potent partnership for Unai Emery’s side, both scoring in three of the past five Premier League games they have started together, while only Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, with 16, has scored more than the Gabon striker’s 12 league goals since his Gunners debut in February.
Emery may have been more satisfied with proceedings at the other end as Arsenal kept their first clean sheet of his tenure, although goalkeeper Cech was largely to thank for that.
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Source: BBC