Opponents update – ‘Confident we'll get the job done’

Kai Havertz had scored the equaliser for Arsenal from the penalty spot in the 89th minute at the BayArena. Three days later, the north London side struggled to break down a strong Everton defence for long periods. This time, again with just a minute of normal time on the clock, it was centre-forward Viktor Gyökeres who got the winner to make it 1-0 for the hosts.

A historic goal from a youngster

And then, in the seventh minute of stoppage time, came Max Dowman’s moment of glory. The visitors’ goalkeeper Jordan Pickford had made his way forward for a corner, and following a clearance, Dowman pounced on the ball, left two opponents in his wake in his own half, charged towards the empty net and slotted home with ease to make it 2–0. It was his first senior goal, making Dowman, at 16 years and 73 days, the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history. The goal sparked euphoric celebrations throughout the stadium: in the stands, amongst the substitutes who ran onto the pitch to celebrate with the scorer, and also from coach Mikel Arteta, who later described the emotional moment as follows: “It was something very special because you just had this feeling: it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen, the goalkeeper's out of his goal, and everyone leapt to their feet. It was incredible. It was so loud, so full of energy. What a moment.”

Arteta: “relentless WILL to win”

Arteta opted against making major changes to his side compared to the 1-1 draw against the Werkself. The 43-year-old Spaniard made just three changes to the starting XI against eighth-placed Everton: Riccardo Calafiori, Noni Madueke and Kai Havertz started in place of Piero Hincapie, Gabriel Martinelli and Viktor Gyökeres. After a strong start from the hosts, Everton created several excellent chances; the match could well have gone a different way. In the second half, the Gunners upped the pressure but initially couldn’t find a way through the visitors’ compact defence. Yet they struck twice late on in the game. A quality that Arteta explicitly highlighted after the final whistle: “We’d talked about it before the game: going into every situation with that relentless will to win and firmly believing that we’d find a way to make it happen. The effort, quality and dedication of the players were sensational, and then it ended in a way that probably none of us had expected. It was one of the finest moments we’ve experienced together in our stadium.”

Lots of goals off the bench for the Gunners

Thanks to the two late goals, Arsenal were able to extend their lead at the top of the table, as closest rivals Manchester City dropped points in the title race when they only managed a 1-1 draw at West Ham United. The Blues are now nine points behind the leaders, although they do have a game in hand.

The mood among the Gunners ahead of the Champions League round of 16 second leg against the Werkself could hardly be better. In the 1-1 draw at the BayArena a few days ago, they found themselves chasing the game for the first time this season in Europe’s premier club competition, after Robert Andrich had put the home side ahead early in the second half. In the end, however, Arsenal were happy with the draw. For the seventh time in the current competition, a player coming off the bench – Kai Havertz – found the back of the net. No other side in the Champions League has scored as many goals off the bench. “That is this team’s great strength,” said Arteta. “The number of goals and assists the whole team produces. It’s incredible; we have to keep that up.”

A force to be reckoned with AT THEIR North London HOME

The coach will once again have almost a full squad at his disposal on Tuesday. Only midfielder Mikel Merino (foot surgery) is definitely still sidelined. It remains to be seen when captain Martin Ödegaard (knee problems) and left winger Leandro Trossard (hip injury) will return to the team.

Striker Noni Madueke “can’t wait” for the second leg and is “confident we’ll get the job done”. At home, the Gunners are a force to be reckoned with: they've lost just one of their 23 games this season (3-2 defeat to Manchester United in the Premier League) at the Emirates.