Arsenal v Everton: Preview, predicted line-ups and team news

Arsenal drew 2-2 at Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday after a 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest on 18 October. Both results came with a depleted squad. Everton arrive in north London having not played midweek, but they have lost 2-0 at home to Chelsea and drawn 2-2 away at Hull in their last two.

The Arsenal manager has already been asked about his Everton counterpart in his pre-match press conference.

Arsenal are second in the Premier League on 18 points from seven games, with six wins and one defeat. The loss was 3-0 at Brighton on 19 September. They have not dropped a point at the Emirates, winning all three home league games and scoring 2.3 goals per match there.

The defence is the foundation. Arsenal have kept four clean sheets in seven league games and concede 0.71 goals a game. They have scored first often and won tight: five of their six wins have come by a one or two goal margin, including 2-1 against Chelsea and Leeds.

Everton are eighth on 10 points from seven games, with two wins, four draws and one defeat. They have drawn all three away matches (1.0 goals scored and 1.0 conceded per game on the road). Their only wins came against Crystal Palace (2-0) and Ipswich (1-0).

They are hard to beat rather than hard to watch. Everton have not scored more than twice in any league game this season, and they have scored 3 of their 8 goals in the last 15 minutes. Another draw would be a decent result, but they have not mustered more than two goals in a game at any point.

The Arsenal manager spent part of his Friday press conference praising his Everton counterpart. Asked if he was the king of the Premier League, the Arsenal manager told Sky Sports: "I don't know whether he is the king or what". He then went on to hail the Everton manager's experience.

The respect is genuine, but it will not change how Arsenal set up. Expect them to dominate the ball and test whether Everton can hold a low block for 90 minutes.

Arsenal have won six and lost one of their last seven league games, a run that includes 1-0 wins at Villa and Nottingham Forest and a 2-1 home win over Chelsea. Everton have won two, drawn four and lost one, and the draws have included 2-2 against Manchester United and 0-0 at Tottenham. Arsenal are the side in better shape and the only defeat, at Brighton, came on the road. Everton's draws look decent on paper, but they have scored twice or fewer in every game and lost their latest home match to Chelsea without scoring.

Arsenal are second on 18 points from seven games, three behind leaders Manchester City on 21 and two ahead of third-placed Brighton on 16. A win would keep them within three points of City and ahead of the chasing pack.

Everton are eighth on 10 points from seven games, level with Brentford and Leeds and eight behind Arsenal. They are three points off fourth-placed Chelsea (13) and two off fifth-placed Liverpool (12). A win would lift them into the European race, but defeat would leave them in the congested middle of the table with 10 points and several sides ready to overtake.

Arsenal have won seven of the last 10 meetings, with two draws and one Everton win. The average is 2.2 goals per game, and just three of the ten (30%) have produced both over 2.5 goals and both teams scoring. The last meeting finished 2-0 to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on 14 March 2026.

The pattern points to low-scoring games and few surprises. Arsenal's last three meetings with Everton have produced a 2-0 win, a 1-0 win and a 1-1 draw, and their only other recent draw was 0-0 in December 2024. That supports the under 2.5 goals and both teams not to score markets, and a one or two goal home win is the correct score lean.

Possession and chance quality separate these sides. Arsenal average 61.3% of the ball over their last seven league games, against 47.1% for Everton. Arsenal's xG is 1.71 for and 0.80 against, while Everton's is 1.35 for and 1.39 against.

That xG gap on the defensive side is the biggest concern for Everton. They concede more than they create, and they will see a lot of the ball go the other way. Everton do take more shots (14.43 per game, against 12.43 for Arsenal), but the home side's 4.43 shots on target a game come from better positions. Arsenal also hold the clean sheet edge, four in seven to three in seven.

Arsenal v Everton kicks off at 15:00 BST at the Emirates Stadium. The match is not broadcast live in the UK because it falls inside the Saturday 3pm blackout, so there is no live TV or stream. Highlights will be shown on Match of the Day, and we will have a live blog running from kick-off.

The value is not in the match result, where Arsenal are 4/9, but in the goals markets. Everton have gone under 2.5 goals in all seven of their league games, and Arsenal's matches have produced under 2.5 in six of seven goals-for counts. At 17/20, the under and BTTS No are the best-priced angles on the board. The builder below combines three of them.