Jake O’Brien made costly error, but 22-touch Everton star truly let David Moyes down vs Arsenal

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Jake O’Brien gave away the penalty that led to the only goal of the game as Everton suffered defeat to Arsenal.

A 1-0 defeat to Arsenal at a packed-out Hill Dickinson Stadium means that the Toffees have suffered back-to-back Premier League defeats in the lead-up to Christmas.

Viktor Gyokeres scored the only goal of the game from a first-half penalty conceded by Jake O’Brien’s handball offence.

Who were you most underwhelmed by against Arsenal? 😫

So many poor performances out there from the Blues…

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Everton pushed for an equaliser, but Arsenal boast the best defensive record in the Premier League and it proved a difficult ask for the Toffees.

The nature of the result meant that the spotlight was on Jake O’Brien at the full-time whistle, but there were other performances that were much more underwhelming.

Dwight McNeil was disappointing vs Arsenal

One of the big selection decisions made in Moyes’ line-up to face Arsenal was that he snubbed Tyler Dibling for Dwight McNeil.

Dwight McNeil was given the nod to start on the right of Everton’s attack, but he got no joy out of facing up against Riccardo Calafiori.

Who should be starting vs Burnley… Dibling or McNeil? 🙄

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As per SofaScore, McNeil earned a 6.2 rating – the lowest of any player on the pitch. A glance at his match stats shows exactly why.

Offensively, McNeil offered very little with all of his crosses failing to find a target.

Everton defended well, but McNeil hardly contributed by winning none of his four duels and only completing one defensive contribution.

Dwight McNeil and Tyler Dibling headache for David Moyes

While McNeil suffered a disastrous afternoon against Arsenal, Everton fans were unimpressed by Tyler Dibling when he came on for the final 15 minutes.

Everton are becoming over-reliant on their left side where Jack Grealish is always happy to receive the ball, but it is making the attack predictable and one-dimensional.

READ MORE: Bukayo Saka has a message for Everton fans after Arsenal win at Hill Dickinson Stadium

Having just faced Chelsea and Arsenal back-to-back, Everton are up against relegation candidates Burnley next, and there will be much more pressure on the Blues to find the back of the net.

Moyes will again have to choose between McNeil and Dibling on the right side, but the truth is that both are failing to impress.