ONE-NIL to the Arsenal. Maybe we should have expected nothing else than for the Gunners to commemorate their 125th anniversary with a narrow, close-fought victory.
But the manner in which Everton failed to poop the Emirates party was as equally familiar to David Moyes and the travelling army.
Harping on about the lack of a dead-eye striker and the creative midfielders to supply him is nothing new. Moyes, more than anyone, has been acutely aware for some time of his team’s shortcomings.
Afternoons such as Saturday simply bring those frustrations into sharp focus.
Once again, while Everton matched their supposedly superior opponents for effort and endeavour, the class that so often makes a difference at this elevated level remains painfully absent.
It was such quality that enabled Robin van Persie to notch the game’s only goal just when it appeared the visitors had genuine belief of returning to Merseyside with a morale-boosting point.
Teasing and tormenting Moyes were reminders of similar talent over the weekend.
As part of the pre-match festivities, Arsenal paraded a host of their former greats that included, among many others, celebrated strikers Thierry Henry and Ian Wright.
Even at their advanced years, it’s tempting to contend either would improve an Everton attack that continues to possess the killer instinct of a daisy-chain-wearing pacifist.
As in the dismal home defeat to Stoke City six days earlier, Moyes’s men failed to muster a single shot on target of note, Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny spared the arduous task of having to make a save.
But don’t just blame the strikers. This is the Everton way right now, a lack of creativity – or, more pertinently, variety – from midfield serving to further expose the problems up front.
So far, so obvious. What isn’t, however, is how Moyes can rectify the issue in the immediate future.
The coin used by referee Howard Webb during the toss was a special sixpence, the amount Arsenal’s founding fathers each contributed to buy the first football for the club back in 1886.
Bill Kenwright would have been forgiven asking for it afterwards. Money of any kind would come in handy during these financially restrained times at Goodison, especially with the January transfer window mere weeks away.
Moyes has been promised some funds, but with clubs notoriously reluctant to part with any prized possessions midway through the season, it may be the Everton manager has to sit on that cash or, as is most likely, turn to the loan market to bolster his flailing forward line.
Indeed, the sight of 19-year-old Academy graduate Conor McAleny thrown on for the final 15 minutes on Saturday underlined the pressing need for experienced reinforcement.
