Arsenal edge Everton to be top at Christmas after more VAR controversy

0:28This is the Sky Sports Premier League podcast. in charge of Arsenal has guided them to the top of the Premier League this Christmas time. In the end it was a narrow win but it's such an important one responding to Manchester City who comfortably strolled past West Ham earlier on. It ends an awkward run on the road where they were winless in three but now for the first time in seven games they have won back-to-back Premier League games. Really important just before Christmas. well Jake O 'Brien will be asking himself long into this Merseyside night what on earth he was thinking as he raised his arms and gifted Arsenal the penalty but a gift that was gladly accepted this Christmas time by Victor Jochores his first goal in five from the penalty spot making sure of the three points so Arsenal it is who leave Everton with the win atop the Premier League Christmas tree Bill thank you very much Thanks to Alan Smith as well.

1:28We wish you a Merry Christmas. Daniel, it's a big three points for Arsenal. Yeah, they fought their socks off. Business-like performance, though. You know, when you talk about how they went about their business, controlled the game, made good passes, good decisions. They didn't give up too many opportunities for Everton. I think they'll go home absolutely buzzing with their overall team performance. The first half they were OK, but the second half, of course, they kept knocking in the end. You go back to the top of the league with a performance like that and the manager will be very pleased. He won't be.

2:01He's not happy, is he, David Moe? He's Jamie. No, I think he probably fills the penalty they could have had with Tejanu Barry, Saliba. I think that's the one that will be certainly on his mind and every right to be angry we've seen worse given by VAR with a bit of intervention. So I think he'll be quite proud of his team. I think it was an easy night for them. They had a few moments. Beto came and made a bit of a difference for them. and there wasn't really a great deal in the match, you know, in terms of the quality at times, but then they had the post, obviously, Arsenal, and there was obviously Jokeres with that penalty, but they didn't look comfortable, and I think there was a little bit of scar tissue from that Aston Villa result, so they'll just be delighted, and all those fans that have travelled away just to get those three points, and then the performances will start to come again, because when you start, when you have that little run that they're on, not winning away, it does get in your brain a little bit, so a big three points for them, and they'll be absolutely buzzing to get back to London.

2:54It was certainly an excitable reaction from some of the Arsenal coaching staff as well, wasn't it, Daniel? We're not even at the halfway stage yet, but every victory, especially with City keeping on winning, just feels so important. Yeah, I mean, they know the opportunity. They've been fighting for this chance to be able to, you know, get over the line. And we're only in December, of course. But as we said, they've had a few bad results away from home. You're thinking Everton's always a difficult place to go. I'm sure the manager would have told them that from his time there. So they'll be very proud knowing that they played a very good football team that caused big problems against big clubs all the time.

3:29But tonight was Arsenal's night.

3:37Dominic at the double for Leeds United, who beat Crystal Palace by four goals to one. A look at that Leeds crowd now. Daniel Farker has got them right where he wants them, right behind his team as well. And a terrific victory. You can scan that QR code. It'll take you to the goals from there and indeed all the Premier League goals from this weekend. Just one at Hill Dickinson tonight and it came from a penalty. Jake O 'Brien with his hands high. And it was Victor Jokeres who was given the responsibility tonight to take the kick, despite the fact that Martin Odegaard was on the field. And indeed, Bukayo Saka.

4:14We can hear from Saka and the goal scorer Jokeres with Natalie Jedra. Boys, well done. Good point here at Hill Dickinson, but Everton made it hard. How do you feel about the performance? Yeah, they made it really tough. Also on us to not kill the game in certain moments, but yeah, credit to them. It's always tough coming here and yeah, we're just happy we got the win in the end. What was it that they were doing that made it so hard for you guys to break them? I think they have a good structure and the intensity they played, you know, with the fans and obviously all their players are so passionate so they gave everything so yeah that made it hard for us but like I said we had our chances and we could have killed the game off earlier.

4:57Ultimately your penalty Victor got Arsenal the win. Could you talk us about the decision-making of because we had a few penalty takers on the pitch and we saw Odegaard handing the ball to you. Yeah, I mean, it's a few that can take it and this time it was me that took it and it was important to score that one. So it was nice. And you really sent it. It was a powerful shot, wasn't it? Yeah, it's usually like that. So, yeah. So, how important was it for you to get a goal tonight, to get the penalty? Because, of course, there's always pressure when you're playing for a club like Arsenal, but also when you're playing as a striker.

5:46Yeah, you always want to score goals. So, yeah, that's the main target every game, I think, for all the attacking players. So, yeah, that's what we want to do. And, of course, today we could have scored a few more. But the most important is that we won the game. And how have you been feeling? Because you didn't get much of a preseason and then you got the injury, but you've been getting a lot of praise from Mikel Arteta. And we see how much you work hard on the pitch. Yeah, I think I try to do my best always on the pitch. And then, yeah, of course, you need to get to know the system, how we play and then fit into that role and adapt to that.

6:23But yeah, we're playing quite well. We're performing. We're in a good position in the league and Champions League. So, yeah, we just keep going like this. And, Bucaio, minutes before you guys played Everton, City played before you and got the win. How important was it for you to manage this game well, especially emotionally as well? No, there's not really any emotions in it. We take the emotions out. We just know we're focused on our job. and this week, since last week, we were focused on winning here, and we did that today. So, yeah, we're back on top of the table, but we're not watching City too much or the other teams, we just know we're in control now, and when we win every week, we'll stay there.

7:11Another really good performance from you guys and from yourself, so you're player of the match. Congratulations, Bukayo. Thank you very much. Could you do the honours, Victor, please? Here we go, bro. Cheers, bro. You have enough space at home? Yeah? Yeah, he's collected a few, hasn't he, Bukayo Saka? Good performance from him and Arsenal got the job done. What did you make of Jokere's all-round performance, Jamie? He did OK. It's a struggle for him at the moment. I think he's finding it hard up there. That's his fifth goal this season. He doesn't look... For whatever reason, it shouldn't be the case because he's been in the English leagues before.

7:50It looks like he's really struggling with the physicality of it because he's a very big guy. I very rarely see him win a duel one-on-one when I thought he could have physically overpowered people. In terms of his finesse and touch and bringing people into play, not good enough. He's finding it tough. He needs a little bit of confidence. I don't think we're ever... Look, he's never going to be like a bird camp that's going to bring the ball, roll people and play little clever passes. He's a battering ram that's going to score goals and make big moments and hopefully win you games. The argument tonight, yes, he won it again, but he won it with a penalty.

8:22Now, you want to see him winning games with really important goals that are going to make the difference in the big games. At the moment, he's done OK. I don't think you can say anything more than that. Daniel, you're a centre-forward. It's your domain. What would you say? I agree. He's not done a hell of a lot to make you feel like, yes, I'm convinced he's the long-term answer. I think right now where the team are at, his style, does it fit what they're doing? Yes, because he stretches the game. He makes different runs in behind. But I do feel that the way they play with goal-scoring winger, Saka's a goal-scoring winger, Trossard's a goal-scoring winger, you do need maybe someone different in there at times because he needs to be fed.

9:01He needs to be that focal point. He needs to be the main man. People feeding him to score goals and giving him chances. He doesn't shoot often. You know, his shot output's down from when it was his time at Sporting. He averaged maybe three to four shots per game there. He's averaging under two for Arsenal. So we're talking about a guy who, at the end of the day, if you want to get the best out of a player who's centre-forward scoring 30-plus goals a season, we look at someone like Erling Haaland. He's had shots, 54 shots this season, maybe more now after the game. You're looking at a guy in Giocares, who I think has only had 17 prior to tonight.

9:38So all in all, yes, he's had some injuries and things, but I think his type of striker, you need to play for them. It can't be we're going to get 10 goals from here, seven from there, nine from there. He needs to be the focal point. When he was at Sporting, obviously they played under Amrind, they played three at the back, two wing backs. So I would have imagined he'd have been getting a lot more service with right footers playing the ball into the space so he can maybe come on to it. Obviously, it's a slightly different proposition at Arsenal because Saka wants to get it back onto his left foot, chop it back, or Martinelli or Trossard.

10:10Do you think that can make a difference sometimes for forward that he doesn't perhaps get the service? Yeah, I mean, the service, again, it's... If you're the striker going into an environment where a team's had success, which Arsenal have, they've not lifted the Premier League, but they've been knocking on the door time and time again, the answer on the outside from ourselves was potentially it's a goal-scoring centre-forward. But you then have to change as a team in order to let this player fit into what you're doing. So if I look at Arsenal now and I look at the wingers, you could say, OK, Eze, he's not a goal-driven winger.

10:42He's an assist guy. He's a guy who's going to advance the ball forward. So in turn, you would imagine that he could build chemistry. Saka, of course, is an all-around brilliant player. But the point I'm trying to make is with strikers like that, the service has to be for them. It can make you more one-dimensional, which I don't think is what Arsenal want to do. You see the plethora of ways in which they can score goals, which is why I think they're so good. But in bringing Jochores, when you're playing against Arsenal with him centre-forward, they are a very different team to having Mourinho I think they're slightly more fluid as an attack when those guys are playing.

11:17But when you have Guillaqueres playing centre-forward, it's almost like we've got to feed him. He's a running behind kind of guy. Those guys who stretch the game and make those runs in behind aren't giving you much coming to feet. They're not going to be linking the play. They're not going to be bringing other guys in, or potentially getting assists for players to play in behind. So in turn, their main driving force is, I'm going to hold the ball up as best I can, But my main thing is making runs in behind to score goals. That's what he was brought to do. So it's an Arteta conundrum, really, in a sense of...

11:49And it's a good thing, I suppose, because you do say, OK, well, we've got horses for courses. If we're playing against a certain style, we go with Giacarez. We've got Marino coming. Is it Supermour playing away from home when there might be a bit more space behind a back four? I would... I would say so. But, again, once you're playing for a team where everybody is trying to stop you. Even when you're playing against teams away from home, you're going to face, you know, low blocks from time to time. I think it's about his game evolving to suit the team, but also the team evolving to suit him. But they've got so many different answers.

12:25And I think when you've got Mourinho, you've got Havertz coming back and you've got Gabriel Jesus, who's now fit, who's been very good for Arsenal. Now the manager does have, you know, many decisions and many options in his camp. which is good, but it's going to be difficult for Giocares to be the only focal point because I just think Arsenal aren't set up to just serve the striker. They've got too many good players in too many different positions to now change this season to do that. I suppose we're asking questions particularly because this was not a fluent Arsenal attacking performance again, particularly in the first half, and it took the penalty to really open the game up a little bit from their part.

13:05it comes from Jake O 'Brien making a rash decision. But Jokor is right in the middle of that, trying to get on the end of it, isn't he? Yeah, Calafiore obviously makes a big run, but Jake O 'Brien, it's just a moment of madness. And he'll be so disappointed in himself because he's just like, what have I done? You know, he's just come in there, nearly given away a penalty just before. Sometimes as a player, you make that first mistake, you compound it, your head's almost all, your body's in like a tumble dry. You're getting tossed around everywhere. where you can't quite figure yourself out. And I think that was just a huge mistake.

13:37You can see it in his face there. He knows he made a mistake. So this was actually a pressure kick for him, wasn't it? Yeah, it was. And he opted for just pure power. And, you know, we've been critical of him. We want to see more. But the truth is, in about a week's time, it'll say 1-0, Jokeres against Everton, three points. No one will care that it was a penalty. And he scored the winning goal. And it does feel significant because, as we said, at half-time, Odegaard's on the field and has taken penalties. is Bukayo Saka is on the field and has taken penalties. And it's two years since they were both on the field and someone else.

14:09That was Kai Havertz when I think the consensus was that Arsenal were then trying to help Kai Havertz get off the mark almost and get his Arsenal career going. So I don't know if it's the same thing that's happening here, but probably not at nil-nil. I don't think so. I think he's used to taking penalties. He's got a great strike on him. He's got the confidence. Yeah, and they obviously trust him, though, to put him in this position. If you're not trusting a guy like this who scored 30-plus goals in two seasons away from, you know, the Premier League to step up and score a goal, then you've signed the wrong player.

14:40Like, you know, he's got to be wanting to be in these pressure moments. He's going to want to be the guy to take the onus on his shoulders, to be the match winner. Tonight, like Jamie just said, it doesn't matter what we want to say about his performance. When it's all said and done, it will say Giocares 1-0 and he was the match winner tonight. There was a big moment at the other end as well. And Arsenal got their penalty. Everton thought they should have one as well. And you saw David Moyes confronting the officials at the end of the game. Let's have a look at it. It's Teano Barry in the mix here with William Saliba.

15:14Jamie? Yeah, I think we've definitely seen his given. Do you want to remind him a little bit? Do you remember there was a goal, Brighton, Jal Pedro, and it was the same player, Saliba, involved. When he actually kicks it, he heads it, Jal Pedro. And you can see him here. Teano Barry just gets his right foot to it there. And he definitely kicks him. And you can see if you actually see Jack Grealish. Jack's absolutely convinced. I mean, apoplectic. He wants it there. But you can just see that he definitely gets his foot up, Barry. And Saliba kicks the back of his heel as a striker, Daniel. You'd expect the penalty.

15:46But this is the stroke of luck you need in order to go that one step further. You know, these are the decisions. You know, I have some friends who are Arsenal fans. And they've been upset with decisions over the years in terms of referees not giving them the things that they want. I think these are the calls that sometimes you need that stroke a look. Could be going away here saying 1-1, and now we're saying, well, Arsenal have been given a penalty, Everton haven't, and they'll feel hard done by. So, you know, you take your loss and you move forward on the Everton side, but would you be disappointed and angry as the players?

16:17100%. David Moyes will come out, and I've got no doubt he'll be disappointed he didn't get that. You know, we've seen some penalties, we've seen some decisions over this weekend, and there's a lot worse than that that have been given. And when you want VAR, we've got VAR, whether we like it or not. That's what it's there for, to intervene. I think they were very fortunate there, Arsenal. All right, we'll bring some reaction to that in a short while. We're going to head across to Ellen Road for the time being, though. Six and five for Dominic Calvert-Lewin. What a run he is on. Seven for the season now.

16:48Fantastic recent run, which has pulled Everton clear of the bottom three. Let's get his post-match reaction to that brace, that victory. with Harriet Pryor. Well, Dominic, we saw you applauding that free kick at the end and I'm sure applauding your team's performance as well. What clicked so well for your side out there tonight? I think it was just a solid performance, a solid home performance. You know, we were direct with the way that we played and also kept the ball in good phases and in good moments. So I think it was just a well-balanced performance. The game management was good. I think we can be happy with that one.

17:20Your first brace in the Premier League since 2020. On the commentary, they said they were classic striker goals Would you agree with that one? Yeah, probably. In the six-yard box, that's where I need to be. I think when you're in a good moment and you've got the run, the ball starts dropping for you and that's where I am at the minute. Seven and 15 now in the Premier League, four leads. Are you setting expectations higher for yourself week in, week out, believing more that you can go out and put in performances like that? The belief stays the same. My belief in myself is that I've always had. It just so happens that when you start in the back of the net, it starts to pay off in a different way.

17:54but nothing's changed for myself. You know, week on week, I look to give my best for the team and just continue to perform well. Has the tactical tweak helped you, though, playing with the striker alongside you? What difference has that made? I enjoy having bodies around me. I think it can be a lonely, lonely role sometimes when you're up there on your own and sometimes you have to flick it on and chase it and do the dirty bits, really, which I'm more than capable of doing. But when you get bodies around, you can link play and get more of a feeling in the game. And I think that's why I've had the success lately.

18:27Well, high expectations for yourself. I know your fans definitely have high expectations. We could hear a few of them singing England's number nine. Is that in the back of your mind? I know Leeds is the focus, though. Again, I don't get carried away. You know, my job remains the same, whether I'm scoring or not scoring. I continue to do the basics well, lead the line for my team, and the rest takes care of itself. Early Christmas present for those Leeds fans out there, giving you a bit of breathing room as well from that bottom three. How significant could that result be? it's a big result for us.

18:57We knew that we don't want to undo our hard work that we've put in over the past couple of weeks, you know, the results that we've got, you know, you want to compound that and build the momentum in the right way. So this was an important game for us and we're just taking it cliche game by game and focusing on what we can control. Hi there, Emma Payton here from the Love the Darts podcast on Sky Sports. We all know that Christmas means darts and the World Championship takes centre stage for the next few weeks. so who is going to stop Luke the New Kalitler from defending his title it is the biggest tournament ever and we'll be there to round up the action for you with daily podcasts from Alexandra Palace so as you're eating your turkey sandwiches or picking out your favourite chocolates from the tub why not keep up to date with all the latest news from Ali Pali by making sure you give us a follow just search for Love the Darts wherever you get your podcasts

19:53Welcome back to the Sky Sports Premier League podcast. Let's get back to the studio for more reaction to today's game. Arsenal are top of the tree at Christmas and not for the first time. Two points clear of Manchester City who replaced them earlier with their 3-0 win over West Ham. But Arsenal have reclaimed top spot just in time. It's always felt like a significant milestone, hasn't it? But in reality for Arsenal in particular, it has meant absolutely nothing. because the four previous times they've been top at Christmas, they have not gone on to win the title. So could this be their year? I'm sure Mikel Arteta is well aware of the significance.

20:35Let's get his post-match thoughts with Nathalie Gennere. Mikel, important win. They didn't make it easy, but you guys kept knocking, kept asking questions. So how did you feel about the performance overall? Well, very happy to win here. It is a really difficult place to come. I think that is very organized. By the way, I take the opportunity to say what a beautiful stadium. They built my heart chills with the atmosphere, with the beauty of it. So congratulations. And yeah, in the first half, we had some moments that we were very dominant without really creating much. We scored the goal. And in the second half, we had two or three big open chances that if you want to be more relaxed at the end, you should score in the Premier League.

21:16Yeah, on these big chances, is it about being more relaxed then ultimately? Because why couldn't you put the game to bed? You had a ball in the post. Two. Two, yes. One Leo, one Zoui man, the Bucaio is totally free inside the box. He's got time, he decides to shoot and the ball gets cleared just on the line. So those moments that you have to be more clinical to have bigger margins. The penalty. You have that moment. You have a few options of good penalty takers. Then you have the moment of Odegaard holding the ball and then giving the ball to Jokiris. Do you think he sensed that Jokiris could really benefit from a goal tonight?

21:59Yes, that's what I hope. And they have to take ownership on the pitch. And they made a decision that Victor was the best taker. He has scored. So what a great decision. There was some nervous energy around the Wolves' performance. But tonight it didn't feel like that at all. So how much did you enjoy the way that they managed the game emotionally? Yes, very important. I mean, you need to enjoy the process of winning, you know, and that's going to be a hard moment, difficult moment, great moment. That's all part of that intention and how close we are to winning. And that's what we have to enjoy and take the game again.

22:36I know you usually say that the Premier League is like that. Teams play before other teams and that just happens. but there is a positive to managing this situation tonight of City being top of the league and then Arsenal playing afterwards. Yes, but we are not looking at that. I know you guys do, but from the first day, the only thing we can control is our own performances and results. And we know how long it's going to be, how tough is this league. And that's it. Enjoy every day. Do your best and let's see what we get. Thank you, Mika. Thank you. Thank you. Interesting on the penalty. I think a lot of people might have assumed that a coach, a head coach who likes to control every little tiny detail would have made decisions before the game about who was number one penalty taker would be for each game when that moment arises.

23:23But the suggestion there from Arteta that it's the players who are making that call. Players taking ownership, yeah. I mean, I was surprised to hear that. I always thought the manager, or certainly before the game, you have all the details. You have who's marking who from set pieces, how you're going to set up, who's on penalties. but the players feel maybe with Jokeres he needs a little bit of love and a big opportunity, not a sympathy penalty because he obviously is Daniel Cedron, he can take penalties very well but when you have Saka, Odegaard or Jokeres taking them some clubs haven't even got players that want to take penalties so the fact they've got three that want to, that is a real luxury and that could be significant as the season goes on so whose shoes would you rather be in Arsenal?

24:00Number one at Christmas, Daniel so would you rather be in their position? Of course, you want to be top of the league you want to be in control of your destiny I think that's what football is all about. The more you can be in control of your own destiny, especially at the top of the league, you don't want to be worrying about, oh, we need you to do this, we need you to do that. Their tunnel vision, and that's what they've got to be in order to go that extra step to lift the Premier League. And they're capable. They've got the squad, they've got the manager, they seem to be providing the answers.

24:31They've had a little blip, they've had the injuries, though. I mean, it's a long season still to go, but where they are right now, you know, going into Christmas, they'll be happy knowing that, look, we've just got to continue doing what we're doing, boys. And I'm sure they're full of confidence right now. I think that's a good point. They have had injuries, lots of injuries, lots of muscular injuries. Sometimes that can't be a coincidence as well. That can sometimes be on what you're doing in training, how you're looking after yourselves in terms of the management of everything. Maybe he might have to look at that differently, the manager, because I just don't think that becomes a coincidence.