Premier League, Gameweek 8 | Saturday 24 October 2026 | Emirates Stadium | Attendance: 60,207
Two goals from two centre-backs, a clean sheet, and Manchester City losing at Aston Villa. If you'd written that down as a wish list on Friday, you'd have been told off for being greedy. Arsenal beat Everton 2-0, moved level on 21 points with the leaders, and did it without Bukayo Saka. Here's what the afternoon taught us.
1. The Set-Piece Drought Is Over (and It Took a Centre-Back to End It)
Let's start with the stat that had been quietly nagging at all of us. Before this game, Arsenal hadn't scored a non-penalty set-piece goal in 12 matches. The last one came way back in May against Crystal Palace, a 13-game wait in total.
It ended in the seventh minute. From a corner, with the ball bouncing around the back post and Jordan Pickford scrambling, Ezri Konsa poked in from close range after Everton's Vitalii Mykolenko fell over. It was Konsa's first goal for the club, and a fittingly scrappy one for a man who'd waited all season for it. (The match reports disagree on who gets the assist: one says Gabriel flicked on Ødegaard's delivery, another credits Gyökeres. Either way, it was a team goal.)
It wasn't a one-off. Arsenal won 12 corners, and set pieces accounted for 0.79 of our 1.77 expected goals, according to Opta's figures. Everton's physicality was overwhelmed at dead balls. If we can keep doing this, it changes the whole shape of a season, because games like the one at Forest, where we had 75% of the ball and one shot on target, suddenly have another way out.
2. We Can Cope Without Saka (For Now)
The big headline off the pitch is Bukayo Saka. He suffered a quadriceps injury in the 2-2 draw at Bayern in midweek, and one report says he could be out for around two months. I'd treat that figure with caution until the club confirms it. Still, the first test of life without him was passed.
The squad responded. Arsenal made four changes from the Forest game, with Gyökeres and Merino making their first Premier League starts of the season. We took 20 shots to Everton's eight, had 58% possession, and generated 1.77 xG to their 0.48.
It wasn't flawless. One review noted that without Saka we lacked width on the right, and Noni Madueke worked hard but lacked the final ball. Eze had flashes of quality but struggled in the box. That's the real question for the next two months: who gives us the end product on that side?
Our defence coming up trumps at both ends 💪 Enjoy highlights of our 2-0 win over Everton, Gooners! 📺 https://t.co/jRSSOJF8My
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) October 24, 2026
3. Gabriel Is Still the Heartbeat
Gabriel Magalhães played his 200th Premier League game and marked it with a goal. His 68th-minute header, from a Ben White overlapping run and far-post cross, was his 21st league goal, his 14th headed league goal, and, remarkably, the first of his league goals that didn't come from a set piece.
The stats make it better: he won six of eight aerial duels, and among Arsenal players only Olivier Giroud has scored more Premier League headers. He's level with Ian Wright on 14.
And he did it after going down awkwardly on his right knee at 55', which gave everyone a scare. Arteta used it to make a wider point about the team:
"The mentality of the team is the mentality of the individuals."
He cited Gabriel's quick return as the example. When two of your centre-backs score in the same game, which hadn't happened since February 2024 (Gabriel and Saliba against West Ham), you're doing something right.
Gabriel Magalhães 🇧🇷 and Kai Havertz 🇩🇪 celebrate Gabriel’s excellent header that put #Arsenal 2-0 up vs Everton today… ❤️ https://t.co/CWcgZC8xOh
— Arsenal News Channel (@Arsenalnewschan) October 24, 2026
4. Gyökeres Finally Got His Chance, and Took It
This one's for the long-running storyline on this blog. After weeks of "will he, won't he" and exit rumours, Viktor Gyökeres started his first Premier League game of the season. The reviews were good: he caused constant problems for Everton's centre-backs, pressed high, and was credited by one source with the assist for Konsa's opener. One rating site gave him an 8 out of 10.
He was replaced by Kai Havertz in the 68th minute as part of a four-man substitution that Arteta used to kill Everton's momentum, and the Havertz-or-Gyökeres debate isn't settled. Arsenal are reportedly still undecided between them for the striker role.
But what it proves is something we've been saying since September: give a player a proper run at it, and you find out what he is. Whether Gyökeres can turn one good afternoon into a run of them is the question, and with Saka out, the manager needs the options.
Also worth a mention: Arteta described Konsa's adaptation as "unbelievable" given he had no pre-season with the club. That's the depth point in a nutshell.
5. The Title Race Is Properly On
The bigger picture. Manchester City, who'd won every league game before Saturday, lost 2-1 at Aston Villa. Arsenal's win left us level on 21 points, with City ahead only on goal difference. We've won seven of our last eight league games, and Arsenal and City are now only the third pair of top-flight clubs, after 1892-93 and 1913-14, to both win at least seven of their first eight matches.
It's early. But we beat a team that has now failed to win in 14 league trips to the Emirates, and David Moyes took his 400th defeat as a manager, 31 of them against Arsenal, more than against any other opponent. Moyes himself was honest: Everton didn't reach a level good enough to win, conceded early and were chasing the game. They had a couple of moments (Thierno Barry was one-on-one with Raya after a loose back-pass from White, and Raya had to make saves), but nothing that should trouble us long-term.
"I have images!"👀 Mikel Arteta claims that other managers are getting away without bookings for exceeding the technical area after he received a yellow card for the offence against Everton. https://t.co/Qkzv9T0fv2
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) October 24, 2026
One small footnote: Arteta picked up his second yellow card of the season for leaving the technical area, and is now one booking away from a suspension. He argued other managers commit the same offence without punishment. It's a minor thing, but it's worth watching if the season gets tight.
The Verdict
A comfortable, controlled, slightly wet afternoon. We lost our best attacker for a couple of months and still won without breaking sweat, thanks to the set pieces and the squad. The team is set up for a long race, and now we find out how much it needs Saka's return.
COYG.
