Clinical Arsenal earn precious win against Everton thanks to Konsa and Gabriel

The wait goes on for David Moyes as Everton suffered another defeat at Arsenal's stadium. The Scot must have been hoping that, on his 14th visit to this venue as Everton's manager, his luck would finally change. Yet from the moment Ezri Konsa slammed home his first goal for Arsenal, the writing was on the wall for Moyes against his former captain, Mikel Arteta.

While it took until midway through the second half for Gabriel Magalhães to make sure of the victory, Arsenal never looked likely to let slip the chance of moving level on points at the top with Manchester City after their defeat by Aston Villa earlier in the day. This was hardly a vintage performance from Arteta's clinical side but it didn't need to be against opponents who offered precious little in attack.

Early Set Piece Goal

Everton's record at this stadium is almost as bad as their manager's. They arrived in north London having only won twice in 35 matches here and had to do without Jarrad Branthwaite and Jack Grealish, who was ruled out with illness. It didn't bode well for them when Arsenal took the lead in the seventh minute with a third corner in succession.

Gabriel made the crucial first contact at the near post and Jordan Pickford tipped the ball on to the crossbar, only for Vitaliy Mykolenko's failed clearance under pressure from Viktor Gyökeres to allow Konsa to ram home from close range. Arsenal's set-piece prowess proved decisive once again.

Rotated but Resilient

It was a measure of their exertions against Bayern Munich on Wednesday night that Arteta rotated his side more than usual for a Premier League match, with five changes. But after losing Bukayo Saka with a thigh injury that could sideline the England forward until mid-December, there was no rest for Martin Ødegaard or Declan Rice as both maintained their record of starting every Premier League game this season.

Having gone six matches without defeat to start the season, a second in succession will only add to Moyes's concerns after confirmation that the club's American owners want out.

Sealing the Victory

Tyrique George curled wide at the other end soon after as the visitors didn't allow their heads to drop. Arsenal continued to look dangerous from set pieces and open play, with Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke spurning good opportunities in front of the England manager, Thomas Tuchel.

Moyes's frustration meant he joined Arteta in the referee's notebook as the game progressed. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall could have made things interesting but his header fizzed just wide of David Raya's post to ensure Arsenal are now breathing down City's necks. Gabriel's header sealed the victory with less than 60 seconds after coming on as a substitute.