Arteta hails Arsenal problem solvers as Gunners pull clear with Everton rout

Mikel Arteta hailed Arsenal’s ability to solve problems after they overcame a hesitant start to thrash Everton 4-0 at the Emirates Stadium, moving five points clear at the Premier League summit.

Arsenal were kept quiet for 40 minutes on Wednesday by Sean Dyche’s Toffees – who inflicted a surprise 1-0 defeat on the Gunners less than a month ago, but the floodgates opened with a quickfire double before the break.

Bukayo Saka hammered home the opener before Gabriel Martinelli got the second, with both men reaching double figures for Premier League goals this term to put Arsenal in control.

Skipper Martin Odegaard then added a third before Martinelli clinched his brace late on, dealing Everton their heaviest league defeat since they were thrashed 5-1 on the same ground last season.

The comprehensive victory saw Arsenal put daylight between themselves and second-placed Manchester City, and Arteta was delighted by the way his team grew into the game.

“I’m happy, we won in a convincing way after 20 or 25 minutes in the first half where we had some difficulties attacking that block, with the really good organisation they have,” Arteta told Sky Sports.

“We were getting a little bit frustrated and allowed them to run in transition in a few moments.

“But afterwards we got control of the game, we scored two goals in perfect time, I would say, just before the break.

10 + 10 – Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli have both scored their 10th league goals of the season tonight; @Arsenal are the only team with two players who have reached double figures in the Premier League this campaign. Playground. pic.twitter.com/8DZSjWNMa7

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 1, 2023

“Then the second half was really convincing, the way we attacked them, the composure in the box to score the goals that we wanted… I’m really happy.

“Everton posed some real questions – especially with how we could attack against that block, as they are really good at that.

“But we also had to not give them a licence to grow into the game, to play close to our goal and produce set-pieces, and I think we did that really well.”

Arsenal’s victory made them the first team in English league history to record 100 wins against a specific opponent, while they have also hit four or more goals in 12 separate Premier League fixtures against Everton – more than any other team has done against another.