Gary Lineker has insisted Everton were unfortunate to come away with nothing against Arsenal at the weekend, as Micah Richards pointed to two key absences.
The Toffees fell to a 2-0 defeat against the Premier League leaders in north London.
The game was tight for the most part, with the deadlock finally being broken in the 89th minute by Viktor Gyokeres.
Who was your Man of the Match in what was a positive performance? 👏
The players deserved so much more… 😡
Everton pushed for an equaliser, but a counter-attack saw Max Dowman come away with the ball and become the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history.
It was always going to be a real test for Everton, but to come so close to taking a point is frustrating.
For Gary Lineker though, there is reason to be positive.
Gary Lineker impressed by Everton’s performance vs Arsenal
Speaking on the latest Rest Is Football podcast, Lineker said: “It was great to be there. As a former Everton man… I thought they did really well Everton, actually.
“I thought they played well and were unlucky, probably, not to go in ahead at half-time. Hit the post, David Raya made a save or two.”
It was a largely disciplined performance from Everton.
But it was sadly undermined by a Jordan Pickford error. Lineker said: “He (Dowman) came on, and whipped that kind of Lamine Yamal cross, and Pickford made for him, I think, a rare error.”
Pickford, of course, has had a sensational season, and there cannot be too much criticism of him for making a mistake.
Everton’s backline was missing James Tarkowski and Jarrad Branthwaite, meaning Michael Keane and Jake O’Brien were the pairing of choice.
Micah Richards pointed to this as a contributing factor to Everton’s loss.
He said: “With no Tarkowski and Brathwaite as well, I thought they defended so, so well.
“Obviously they had a game plan and stuck to it, and a had a couple of chances as well on the counter-attack. I thought they were going to score at one point.”
It wasn’t an ideal weekend for Everton, with Newcastle United’s win over Chelsea meaning they’re now just a point behind in ninth.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 4 |  Aston VillaAston Villa | 30 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 40 | 37 | 3 | 51 |
| 5 |  LiverpoolLiverpool | 30 | 14 | 7 | 9 | 49 | 40 | 9 | 49 |
| 6 |  ChelseaChelsea | 30 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 53 | 35 | 18 | 48 |
| 7 |  BrentfordBrentford | 29 | 13 | 5 | 11 | 44 | 40 | 4 | 44 |
| 8 |  EvertonEverton | 30 | 12 | 7 | 11 | 34 | 35 | -1 | 43 |
| 9 |  NewcastleNewcastle | 30 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 43 | 43 | 0 | 42 |
| 10 |  BournemouthBournemouth | 30 | 9 | 14 | 7 | 44 | 46 | -2 | 41 |
| 11 |  FulhamFulham | 30 | 12 | 5 | 13 | 40 | 43 | -3 | 41 |
| 12 |  BrightonBrighton | 30 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 39 | 36 | 3 | 40 |
Brentford and Bournemouth also picked up a point each in their games.
But Everton have the chance to get back on track this weekend against an erratic Chelsea side, who are five points above the Toffees in the table.
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