David Moyes makes clear Everton demand after Arsenal defeat

David Moyes says Everton must create more chances after they were beaten 2-0 by Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

The Toffees fell behind after seven minutes when Ezri Konsa scored from a corner, before Gabriel headed in Arsenal’s second midway through the second half. Moyes felt Everton did plenty of things well against the reigning Premier League champions, particularly without the ball, but was less satisfied with their attacking play.

“I want more chances,” he said after the game. “Obviously, we’re playing against a really strong opposition. We might not get three, four, five, six chances, but we have to try to take them when we get them.”

Here are four things to take from the Everton manager’s post-match comments.

1. Moyes wants Everton to create more

There was no suggestion from Moyes that he expected Everton to go to the Emirates and create chance after chance. His frustration was that when they did get into promising positions, they did not make enough of them. Tyrique George had a powerful effort deflected behind in the first half and Thierno Barry was denied by David Raya after an under-hit Arsenal header presented him with an opening. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall then headed narrowly wide from James Garner’s cross late on.

Those were decent moments, but there were not enough of them. Everton have now failed to score in successive Premier League games following last weekend’s 2-0 defeat by Chelsea, and Moyes made it clear where he wants to see an improvement.

“We had a couple of chances, Thierno in the first half and then a bit unlucky with Kiernan late in the game,” he said. “But we certainly need to do that better than we did today.”

2. There were positives despite the result

Moyes was not entirely unhappy with Everton’s performance. After conceding so early, they stayed in the game and made Arsenal work for their second goal. The manager felt there was an improvement after half-time as Everton tried to press higher up the pitch, although they were unable to turn that spell into an equaliser.

“I thought there were better bits in the second half than in the first,” Moyes said. “We pressed them and got after it.”

That assessment was reflected in the game itself. Everton were rarely overrun and were still only one goal behind when Gabriel scored in the 68th minute, but their lack of threat at the other end meant Arsenal were seldom placed under sustained pressure.

3. Moyes unhappy with lapses for Arsenal goals

For all the praise he gave Everton’s defensive work, Moyes was frustrated by the manner in which Arsenal scored. Konsa’s opener came from a Martin Odegaard corner, with Jordan Pickford getting a hand to the ball before the Arsenal defender converted from close range. The second arrived when Gabriel was left free at the far post to head in Ben White’s cross.

“There were lots of good things the players did today – defended well for long periods but just had a couple of lapses,” Moyes said. He was particularly disappointed with the second, adding that “a couple of people turned off for that action”.

It was costly because Everton had reached a point in the game where they were beginning to ask Arsenal a few more questions. At 1-0 there was still a route back. At 2-0, with just over 20 minutes remaining, the task became considerably harder.

4. Moyes has decisions to make in attack

Jack Grealish’s absence through illness did not help Everton, but it also gave Moyes the chance to look at some of his other attacking options. George was handed a start and produced one of Everton’s better first-half efforts, while Tyler Dibling and Charly Alcaraz were available from the bench. Hayden Hackney was another option as Moyes looked for a way back into the game.

The manager now has to decide whether changes are needed to give Barry more support. The striker had one opportunity at the Emirates but otherwise spent long periods without the sort of service a centre-forward needs. Everton’s next game, Thursday’s Carabao Cup fourth-round tie against Newcastle United at Hill Dickinson Stadium, offers Moyes an opportunity to freshen things up.

After two games without a goal, the message from the manager is straightforward. Everton have to give themselves more opportunities to score.

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