JOLEON LESCOTT can come back and be a great player again for Everton despite his transfer request a week ago but Evertonians will now be fearing whether their team can come back from this defeat to still have a great season.

On the opening day of the 1990-91 season, a certain wantaway Everton player staged a half-time protest at his team-mates deficiencies, cutting a solitary figure against one the Goodsion Park goal posts before the rest of the home side emerged following the interval.

That game finished 3-2 to newly-promoted Leeds United and that man was of course Neville Southall.

Despite being seemingly bound for Manchester that summer – it was United in his case who eventually failed to stump up the cash with Sir Alex Ferguson plumping for Peter Schmeichel the following year.

And despite handing in several transfer requests throughout his long and distinguished Everton career, the Welsh international goalkeeper would remain at Goodison Park for a further seven years and go on to make a club record 750 appearances. Lescott will never go on to reach the heights of Southall and become the number one player in the world in his position but he has become a highly-valued part of David Moyes’s squad and because of that the Everton manager is steadfastly refusing to be bullied into selling him at this time to a team who are likely to be one of his own club’s main rivals this season.

As far as Moyes is concerned it’s an open and shut case – Lescott is not for sale.

Mark Hughes though seems to love talking about Manchester City’s pursuit of the Birmingham-born defender and was again waxing lyrical after his own side’s victory at Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.

Hughes, who said there was “no point” in speaking to Moyes directly about the matter, continues to adopt a lamentably disrespectful attitude towards one of his former teams.

The Goodison faithful took Hughes to their hearts when he played for them during the Walter Smith era despite the already washed-up striker spending most of his time in the Everton side getting into petty wrestling matches with opposition centre-backs rather than scoring goals – he netted just once in 18 outings.

However, this particular Welshman seems to have forgotten the goodwill shown to him by the blue half of Merseyside and further stuck the boot in by inadvertently adding some comedy on what was a black day for Everton.

Hughes continued: “I am not surprised David feels a bit aggrieved with the situation, you always are when a big club comes along trying to acquire one of your better players.”

So becoming the latest Premier League outfit to sell your soul to Arab petrodollars while giddy fans swagger around your ground wearing tea towels on their heads doing Harry Enfield ‘loadsamoney’ gestures makes you big Hughesie?

Come back City when you’ve won a trophy in Lescott’s lifetime, when more than a decade has past since you played in the third tier and when you’ve won more League titles than Derby, Burnley, Portsmouth and Preston.

By the way, you’re still trailing the mighty Huddersfield.

Lescott himself received a mixed reaction from the home support.

When his name was read out immediately before kick-off, the majority of Everton fans cheered – and they will presumably continue to back him so long as he doesn’t swap his royal blue jersey for a lighter hue – but there was no escaping the sound of a significant minority who booed the England international.

The former Wolves man’s body language also suggested that he is currently unhappy with his surroundings.

While the rest of his team-mates ran energetically to salute the Gwladys Street following the pre-match handshakes, Lescott walked slowly to his position with a gunslinger’s gait.

Despite the air of uneasiness, there was no suggestion at this stage of the horror show about to unfold for Moyes’s men over the following 90 minutes.

Denilson’s stunning opener on 26 minutes, was vintage Arsenal as the Brazilian midfielder unleashed an unstoppable shot from outside the area.

The hosts almost drew level when Marouane Fellaini headed towards goal from an inswinging corner-kick by Leighton Baines but Denilson was again the hero for the Gunners, clearing off the line.

But while there was nothing Everton could do about Arsenal’s first goal, what followed was entirely preventable and largely self-inflicted.