Arsenal retake top spot from Manchester City | OneFootball

For the first time since August, Arsenal kicked off a league match in second place, briefly overtaken earlier in the day after Manchester City beat West Ham United.

By the end of the evening, the order had been restored.

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A 1-0 victory over Everton at Hill Dickinson Stadium sent Arsenal back to the top of the Premier League for Christmas, with Viktor Gyökeres’ first half penalty proving decisive on a night that demanded patience, control and defensive discipline.

Gyökeres ended his five game goal drought on 27 minutes, smashing home from the spot after Jake O’Brien handled Declan Rice’s corner.

The decision, awarded following a VAR review, was a moment of madness from the Everton defender.

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Arsenal dominated the opening period and restricted the hosts to no shots on target before the interval, but were unable to turn their control into a second goal.

Leandro Trossard and Martin Zubimendi both struck the woodwork in the second half, while Bukayo Saka saw a close range effort cleared off the line as Arsenal threatened to pull clear.

Everton’s sense of grievance deepened when Thierno Barry went down under a challenge from William Saliba, only for VAR to uphold the on field decision and deny the home side a penalty.

After the match, Mikel Arteta admitted his side should have made the contest more comfortable, but praised their authority and organisation at a difficult venue.

“[We’re] very happy,” he said. “We put in a very solid performance. It’s a very difficult place to come against a team that are very organised.

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“They can create very chaotic moments in the way that they play, but I think we controlled it really well, scored the goal and in the second half we talked about scoring the second one.

“So, we went for it, had about three or four big chances, hit the post twice and probably the margin should have been bigger. But yes, defensively, again another clean sheet. We haven’t conceded any chances throughout the game, so a positive evening.”

Arteta also revealed that the decision over who would take the penalty was left to the players themselves.

“[I am] very happy. It’s a really important goal to win the game,” he added. “I love that the players took ownership to decide who the taker was going to be, and it worked, so a good decision overall.”

The win made it back to back Premier League victories following last weekend’s success against Wolverhampton Wanderers, and ensured Arsenal will sit top at Christmas for the third time in the past four seasons.

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Arteta was keen to stress that his focus remains on results rather than Arsenal’s league position.

“We know how many games we have in different competitions and what the margins are,” he said. “So winning always helps and now we’re ready for Tuesday [against Crystal Palace].”

The night also marked Arteta’s first visit to Everton’s new waterfront stadium, returning to face David Moyes, under whom he spent six and a half years as a player on Merseyside between 2005 and 2011.

“Yes, it’s unbelievable,” Arteta said. “If I had to pick a place, probably it would be this one. I take the opportunity as well to congratulate everybody at Everton and all the people who have worked to build this incredible stadium.

“I was shocked, I didn’t expect such a beautiful place and the atmosphere that they created, so well done to all of them.”

Arsenal now turn their attention to Carabao Cup action before returning to league duty next weekend, with the knowledge that a narrow but controlled win on Merseyside has once again placed them in control of the title race.