Clinical Arsenal earn precious win against Everton thanks to Konsa and Gabriel

The wait goes on for David Moyes. The Scot must have been hoping that, on his 14th visit to this stadium as Everton’s manager, his luck would finally change. Yet from the moment Ezri Konsa slammed home his first goal for Arsenal as the Premier League champions rediscovered their knack of scoring from set pieces, the writing was on the wall for Moyes against his former captain, Mikel Arteta.

While it took until midway through the second half for Gabriel Magalhães to make sure of the victory, Arsenal never looked likely to let slip the chance of moving level on points at the top with Manchester City after their defeat by Aston Villa earlier in the day. This was hardly a vintage performance from Arteta’s clinical side but it didn’t need to be against opponents who offered precious little in attack, even if they defended for their lives at times. Having gone six matches without defeat to start the season, a second in succession will only add to Moyes’s concerns after confirmation that the club’s American owners want out.

Everton’s record at this stadium is almost as bad as their manager’s. They arrived in north London having only won only twice in 35 matches here and had to do without Jarrad Branthwaite and Jack Grealish, who was ruled out with illness. It didn’t bode well for them or Moyes when Arsenal took the lead in the seventh minute with a third corner in succession. Gabriel made the crucial first contact at the near post and Jordan Pickford tipped the ball on to the crossbar, only for Vitaliy Mykolenko’s failed clearance under pressure from Viktor Gyökeres to allow Konsa to ram home from close range.

It was a measure of their exertions against Bayern Munich on Wednesday night that Arteta rotated his side more than usual for a Premier League match, with five changes. But after losing Bukayo Saka with a thigh injury that could sideline the England forward until mid-December, there was no rest for Martin Ødegaard or Declan Rice as both maintained their record of starting every Premier League game this season.

Tyrique George curled wide at the other end soon after as the visitors didn’t allow their heads to drop. Arsenal continued to look dangerous from set pieces and open play, with Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke spurning good opportunities in front of the England manager, Thomas Tuchel. Madueke was left out of the last squad but could benefit from Saka’s absence and he was inches away with an instinctive effort with his right foot from the edge of the box on the half-hour mark.

Sporting a dark-blue baseball cap to shield him from the incessant rain, Moyes must have feared the worst as yet another Arsenal corner – 10 alone in the first half – was launched into the box. Yet his defence just about stood firm. A moment’s lapse of concentration from Ben White just before half-time almost gifted Everton an equaliser but Thierno Barry could not get enough on his attempt to flick the ball past David Raya.

Moyes dispensed with his hat for the second half despite the rain continuing and his side were given more encouragement when Merlin Röhl’s cross almost deceived Raya. Gyökeres looked determined to make an impact on his first Premier League start of the season but once again the Sweden striker, who has yet to score for his club this season, looked laboured in attack. He couldn’t believe it when the referee Tony Harrington penalised him for a foul on James Tarkowski and Arteta earned himself a booking for protesting.

Unsurprisingly, Gyökeres’ number was up soon after as, not for the first time this season, Arsenal turned to their bench. It took less than 60 seconds for Gabriel to head in at the back post as White offered Tuchel a timely reminder of his qualities with a brilliant cross. Moyes’s frustration meant he joined Arteta in the referee’s notebook. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall could have made things interesting but his header fizzed just wide of Raya’s post to ensure Arsenal are now breathing down City’s necks.