IT’S always exciting when a new player makes his debut, even if he is just coming on a glorified busman’s holiday, and so it’s almost with baited breath that Evertonians look forward to Landon Donovan making his bow at the Emirates at the weekend.

Presumably the US international will play some part in the match given the Blues’ continued lack of numbers, even if he just comes on to replace James Vaughan after the youngster has worn himself out running around and barely getting a touch of the ball.

That’s what normally happens in these matches anyway, and last weekend’s performance against First Division Carlisle United did little to suggest that this visit to North London is going to play out much differently.

Happily, Everton eventually squeezed past Greg Abbott’s men, but if they concede possession as cheaply on Saturday then, well, we all remember what happened on the opening day of the season.

Leon Osman’s creativity was sorely missed in the FA Cup game, as Phil Neville and Marouane Fellaini looked too similar in the centre of the Everton midfield.

That’s similar in the way they wanted to play, not in appearance, clearly. However, given that we tend to spend most of the time in our own half when we travel to Arsenal, David Moyes will probably be tempted to stick with that defensive pairing on Saturday, with Diniyar Bilyaletdinov the most likely to miss out if Osman is reinstated to the side.

Despite scoring four goals in all competitions, the Russian international often looks well off the pace, as if he’s struggling to adapt to English football.