Arsenal returned to winning ways in the Premier League with a thumping 5-1 win over Everton at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday evening.
Aaron Ramsey was responsible for three of the goals, netting either side of Laurent Koscielny's header in a rampant first-half showing.
Debutant Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang also got off the mark before the opening 45 minutes were up, and Ramsey rounded off his hat-trick from 12 yards after Dominic Calvert-Lewin had pulled one back for the visitors.
Relive how the 90 minutes of action unfolded with Sports Mole's live text coverage below.
Hello and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of the Premier League meeting between Arsenal and Everton at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners have won just three of their last 11 league matches, leaving them eight points adrift of the top four, while the Toffees ended a seven-game winless streak in midweek.
The Gunners desperately need to close the gap on the two sides directly above them, both of whom are not in action today, with supporters once again turning on manager Arsene Wenger. Despite losing Alexis Sanchez, arguably their best player, Arsenal enjoyed a positive transfer window and this evening's match could give us a first chance to see record signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang up close.
ARSENAL TEAM NEWS!
STARTING XI: Cech; Bellerin, Koscielny, Mustafi, Monreal; Xhaka, Ramsey; Iwobi, Mkhitaryan, Ozil; Aubameyang
SUBS: Lacazette, Wilshere, Ospina, Chambers, Maitland-Niles, Kolasinac, Elneny
There we have it - Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, signed from Borussia Dortmund in a club-record deal worth £56m, is handed his debut three days after arriving. The Gabon international, who scored 98 goals in 144 outings for BVB - 31 of those in the Bundesliga last season to top the charts - had been suffering from a minor illness but is deemed fit enough to come in from the off this evening.
There is also news of a home debut for Henrikh Mkhitaryan, whose arrival was greeted by slightly less fanfare as it meant Alexis Sanchez heading the opposite way. Mkhitaryan, a talented player in his own right, was given 30 minutes from the bench against Swansea City and saw his side slip to defeat in a disastrous display in South Wales. More is expected in this one, with Mesut Ozil included alongside him after committing his future to the club.
Alexandre Lacazette makes way for Aubameyang, so Wenger opting against fielding them both in the same side. There is also no place in the starting lineup for Jack Wilshere, who missed the defeat at the Liberty Stadium through illness and is perhaps still not quite at 100%. Aaron Ramsey and Granit Xhaka therefore link up in the engine room, sitting in front of a back four comprised of Hector Bellerin, Laurent Koscielny, Shkodran Mustafi and Nacho Monreal.
EVERTON TEAM NEWS!
STARTING XI: Pickford; Mangala, Keane, Ashley Williams; Cuco Martina, Gueye, Schneiderlin, Bolasie, Walcott, Kenny; Niasse.
SUBS: Robles, Rooney, Tosun, Sigurdsson, Davies, Calvert-Lewin, Holgate
Never change a winning formula, the old saying goes. Sam Allardyce has been around the block a few times and he has decided to go completely against that piece of advice, as he makes five changes to the side that beat Leicester City 2-1 in midweek. The Toffees appear to have shaped up in a 5-4-1 formation, with Cuco Martina and Jonjo Kenny filling in as wing-backs.
The big news as far as the visitors are concerned is that Eliaquim Mangala comes in for his debut, having arrived from Manchester City in the dying stages of the transfer window. Experienced central defender Ashley Williams also starts at the Emirates Stadium, as does Michael Keane, so Allardyce is going with three across the back to thwart Ozil, Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan.
Mangala, Williams and Kenny are three of the players to come into the fold from last time out, joined by Morgan Schneiderlin and Yannick Bolasie. Schneiderlin's task will be to fill in alongside Idrissa Gueye in the engine room, while Bolasie is tasked with providing a link to lone striker - a surprise option, it must be said - Oumar Niasse. The attack line is completed by a certain Theo Walcott, who makes a welcome return to North London.
Theo Walcott joined Everton two-and-a-half weeks ago in a £20m deal, bringing an end to a 12-year stay at Arsenal. The England international hopeful was restricted to just six league outings this season prior to departing, each from the bench, but he has already made an impact at Goodison Park with a couple of vital goals against Leicester City a few days ago.
A sense of excitement around the Emirates Stadium this evening, then - and not because of Walcott's return! the arrival of Aubameyang, a player boasting serious pedigree inside the box, has helped to lift the mood somewhat at a time when results have been pretty poor. The loss of Sanchez was a tough one to take, of course, but Mkhitaryan can help fill that void and Aubameyang should - should! - provide something a little different in attack.
There is of course a £47m elephant in the room - a certain Alexandre Lacazette, who was brought in for that exact same reason. The Frenchman has not exactly been a disaster, but his performance against Swansea in midweek was pretty shocking and highlighted just how far away Arsenal are from the division's elite. Now Wenger has to find a system to suit his superstar attackers, before strengthening at the other end of the field in the summer.
Wenger admitted at Friday's press conference that Arsenal are light defensively - both in terms of numbers and quality. For all the talk of Aubameyang potentially notching up 25+ goals next season once he finds his feet, the Gunners continue to remain defensively suspect and it has cost them season after season. According to reports, Kostas Manolas was a late target for Wenger, as was Jonny Evans, but nothing could be agreed.
Ozil put pen to paper earlier this week as well, so all in all it has been a pretty positive fortnight for the Gunners in the boardroom. On the field has been a different matter entirely, though, as a 3-1 loss to Swansea on Wednesday night only compounded their misery. That win came on the back of an EFL Cup triumph against Chelsea and 4-1 thrashing of Crystal Palace, so results did appear to be taking a turn for the better.
Arsenal have had far too many blips this campaign, as is proving the case season after season, having also lost on their travels at Bournemouth recently and been held by West Bromwich Albion. Throw high-scoring draws against Liverpool and Chelsea into the mix and it is just two league wins in their last seven - or three in 11 going further back. That leaves Wenger's men sixth in the table, six points adrift of Spurs and eight off Chelsea in fourth.
Another season of no Champions League football is looking a real possibility - through the direct league route, at least - unless Arsenal can seriously up their game and turn their form around. Wenger believes that in Ozil the Gunners have a player ready to lead the Gunners on a winning run, though results over the past couple of months suggests that it will be another season of frustration for supporters.
Arsenal really need to get three points on the board this evening, with games against Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City next up in the league. There was plenty of talk about the Gunners' defensive frailties as Swansea, so all eyes will be on the backline tonight; a backline that has conceded 34 goals this season - a record bettered by six other teams. Three points and a clean sheet will therefore be the message from Wenger to his players in the dressing room.
Arsenal have a good home record against the teams below them, winning all eight of those previous fixtures this term. They have also scored in each of their last 26 Premier League outings at the Emirates Stadium since a goalless draw with Middlesbrough in October 2016, and with Aubameyang now included up top you have to fancy the top-four chasers to extend that impressive scoring streak this evening.
DID YOU KNOW? Arsenal have never lost at the Emirates Stadium in the month of February, winning 17 and drawing four. On a more negative note, though, the Gunners have committed 11 errors leading directly to goals this season - more than any other team in Europe's top five leagues. Furthermore, only Watford have lost more points from a winning position than Arsenal's 17 in 2017-18.
There is a sense of excitement surrounding Arsenal following the arrivals of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, as well as a new contract for Mesut Ozil, which has been offset slightly by Alexis Sanchez's departure to Manchester United. All that excitement needs to filter down to the field, however, as the Gunners have won just three of their last 11 league outings and are in serious need of a lift.
While Arsenal are hovering in sixth place, Everton have steadily climbed the table and dropped back down a few places in recent weeks. After the 3pm kickoffs, the Toffees find themselves occupying 10th place, and are five points adrift of Burnley in seventh - their target for the season. That is not where supporters wanted to finish in pre-season, but after such an abysmal start that would be a decent position to end in.
It has been a turbulent spell in charge for Allardyce, as the Toffees went seven games unbeaten following the announcement of his arrival - the first of those, a 4-0 win against West Ham United, being overlooked by David Unsworth - but 15 points from 21 has since become four from the last 15 on offer. Further back, it is six points from 21 and Everton supporters are already beginning to grow a little agitated.
The victory over Leicester in midweek was massive for Allardyce, then, secured thanks to Walcott's brace. That came on the back of a 1-1 home draw to West Brom, with the players subjected to jeers from some sections of the ground, as well as the thrashing away to Tottenham Hotspur. Walcott could be a shrewd purchase for Allardyce, though, while the jury is very much still out on the other big-name arrival in Cenk Tosun - subbed off twice so far without scoring.
The third arrival was Mangala, who should help strengthen Everton's defence even if he has had an up-and-down time of things at parent club Man City. With those three players in Allardyce made no secret that he desperately needed to trim his squad and, despite deals breaking down for a couple of players on deadline day, the likes of Ross Barkley, Aaron Lennon, Muhamed Besic, Kevin Mirallas, Ademola Lookman and Sandro Ramirez all left on either short-term or permanent transfers.
The departure of Lookman on loan to RB Leipzig raised a few eyebrows on deadline day, coinciding with Everton's win over Leicester City, but Allardyce was keen to stress that it was the youngster's decision to enhance his all-round game. Lookman could play a big part next season, and Allardyce may well already be looking at 2018-19 as the best he can hope for this time around is a seventh-placed finish - not exactly enough to set pulses racing.
This will be one of Everton's toughest tests of the season, though they have a nice run to look forward to once it is out of the way with; no more top six teams on the horizon until a meeting with Manchester City on March 31 - six games away. The win over Leicester last time out not only ended a seven-game winless run, meanwhile, it was also the Toffees' first in 12 against a team above them in the division.
Everton head into this match winless in their last 27 Premier League matches away to sides in the top six, and as last season proved there is seemingly only so far the Toffees can go. A good starting point is to stop falling behind in games, though once they do go behind they have a good record of recovering, claiming a league-high 13 points from losing positions in 2017-18.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS! Everton have gone 11 matches without a win at Arsenal - their longest-such run against any club, with four draws and seven defeats during that time. The Toffees have earned just two wins from the last 22 meetings overall, meanwhile, most recently coming away with victory in December 2016. Today's hosts have also netted 100 times against their opponents in the Premier League.
With kickoff in North London now just a couple of minutes away, let us check out some pre-match thoughts from both camps.
Arsene Wenger: "I couldn't do everything. I wanted to do more. I believe we have to find an internal solution to our defensive problems, and that means everyone putting more effort in. But overall I am happy with the way things went in the transfer market."
Sam Allardyce: "Eliaquim adds power and strength to our defensive unit. Also, he's naturally left-footed - we don't have a natural left-footer in the team at the moment. Michael Keane is not bad with his left foot and Yannick Bolasie is okay, but they are not naturally left-footed. It gives us a little bit of balance down that left-hand side defensively."
KICKOFF! Everton, sporting an all-blue kit this evening, gets us under way at the Emirates Stadium. Both teams have struggled for form since the turn of the year and will be seeking a positive result from this final Premier League match of the day.
Arsenal the side seeing more of the ball in the opening exchanges, looking to work a passing angle for Aubameyang. It was not so long ago that Lacazette, the Gunners' previous record signing, scored a debut goal at this ground. How times change!
The ball bounces around in and around the Everton box before being cleared. Not pretty by any means and Williams has just conceded a free kick after clipping the feet of Mkhitaryan around 21 yards from goal - a shooting chance.
GOAL! ARSENAL 1-0 EVERTON (AARON RAMSEY)
All the talk pre-match was about Mkhitaryan, Aubameyang and even Ozil, but it is a familiar face in Ramsey who opens the scoring. Aubameyang and Mkhitaryan did play a part, though, with the latter sending the ball into a dangerous position for Ramsey to fire past Pickford.
There was even a touch from Ozil in the build-up to that goal, so all three of Arsenal's main attacking players involved. A good finish from Ramsey, who now has three in his last three against the Toffees, with the ball being played slightly behind him.
CLOSE! Not a bad attempt from Mkhitaryan at all, fresh on the back of recording his first assist in an Arsenal shirt. The Armenian carried the ball into a central position and let swing, missing the target by a matter of inches.
Difficult to see where an Everton goal is going to come from, having set out in such a defensive formation - effectively seven defence-minded players on the field. Could be a long evening ahead for those travelling supporters!
GOAL! ARSENAL 2-0 EVERTON (LAURENT KOSCIELNY)
As easy as you like, Arsenal have themselves a second. Another of the old members, as Koscielny gets on the end of Mustafi's smart flick-on from the corner to head the ball over the line. Everton's defending was truly shocking.
Arsenal had four goals a quarter of the way through their home clash with Palace recently - same again this time around? They have not even really got out of second gear so far and already have a couple of goals, which really is worrying for Everton.
Monreal has added goals to his game of late, netting his latest against Swansea last time out, and he does well to cut inside and get a shot away here. The ball was heading towards goal before hitting an opposition player.
GOAL! ARSENAL 3-0 EVERTON (AARON RAMSEY)
Everton are truly abysmal. Iwobi lays the ball off to Ramsey 20 yards from goal and the Welshman has plenty of time and space to belt the ball past Pickford, via a deflection off Mangala on its way through. Allardyce desperately needs to change things.
SHOT! Everton's first sight of goal, with Martina dragging a volley wide of goal from inside the box. That is literally the first time the visitors have managed to get at their opponents in the opening 23 minutes of the game.
YELLOW CARD! Laurent Koscielny with an unnecessary challenge on Idrissa Gueye in midfield, which earns him the first booking of the evening. The points are essentially in the bag for Arsenal now - they can really have some fun.
BLOCK! Three shots on target for Arsenal and three goals, taking their tally against Everton this term to eight in a game-and-a-half. Good chance for Walcott, but Mustafi produced a superb block to keep out the winger's curler.
Arsenal have not really pushed on after the third goal, which is fair enough. No need to concede a needless goal at the other end by getting ahead of themselves, and there is still plenty of time to add a fourth, fifth and potentially more.
SAVE! Pickford makes his first save of the evening by keeping out Aubameyang down low. The Gabonese raced well clear and had just the Everton stopper to beat, but the angle was slightly against him and it told in the end.
Aubameyang probably should have scored from that previous chance, but with the score at 3-0 it matters very little. Arsenal cruising their way through this match and on course to maintaining their unbeaten league record here in the month of February.
Allardyce will just be pleased that his side have not gone on to concede a fourth goal. Arsenal happy to knock the ball around at the moment, and they have created one or two decent openings to add that fourth goal of the evening.
GOAL! ARSENAL 4-0 EVERTON (PIERRE-EMERICK AUBAMEYANG)
This is what Arsenal paid for! Potentially the first of many for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who was played through by fellow new recruit Mkhitaryan and dinked the ball over Pickford. Great goal, but replays show he was well offside.
OFF THE POST! No idea how this one stayed out, as Monreal comes close to scoring for a second game in a row. The full-back headed a corner against the ground and it came back and hit the frame of the goal - so unlucky.
In Allardyce's defence, he has every right to be frustrated at the fourth goal - it was quite clearly offside. But Everton have been truly dreadful this evening and deserve to be on the end of what could be a serious thrashing.
Xhaka with a nasty landing, leading to a stoppage in play. Think Allardyce will be the happiest man in the stadium at the moment, as Arsenal are unable to score any more goals while the physio is on the field. Half time a minute or so away now.
I think this attack just about sums things up for Everton. Xhaka with a chance to shoot in the box but he has so much time, as well as a player next to him, that he delays it long enough for a block to come in. Sixty seconds of stoppage time to come.
HALF TIME: ARSENAL 4-0 EVERTON
The referee temporarily puts Everton out of their misery by blowing for half time. The Gunners have been impressive in this first half but, equally, the Toffees have been abysmal. Sam Allardyce needs to make some drastic changes during these next 15 minutes.
The first of Arsenal's four first-half goals arrived through their first attempt of note, as star attacking trio Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan exchanged passes, before the latter teed up Aaron Ramsey to convert from close range. Fresh from claiming his first assist in an Arsenal shirt on what was his first home outing, Mkhitaryan then sent a long-range shot inches wide of the opposition target.
Even at this early stage in the game the hosts were already in cruise mode, barely breaking into a sweat to add their second via a Laurent Koscielny header after Shkodran Mustafi flicked on a corner. Ramsey doubled his own personal tally for the evening 19 minutes in, this time from further out as he profited from time and space to send a deflected effort flying past Jordan Pickford.
Having conceded from all three shots on target, Everton finally managed to get the ball into the other half of the field and could have had a lifeline when Cuco Martina miscued his volley. A decent opening also came and went for Theo Walcott on his return to the Emirates Stadium, delaying a shot and seeing it blocked by the covering Mustafi, and Arsenal soon moved back through the gears.
Debutant Aubameyang was denied down low by Pickford after being played through on goal by Ozil, with the angle proving too much to overcome, but he found a way through six minutes later after latching on to a Mkhitaryan through-ball. A delicate clipped finish got the Gabonese striker off the mark with his first goal in an Arsenal shirt, though he was well offside when the pass was made.
There could well have been a fifth before the interval, only for Nacho Monreal's downward header to come back off the crossbar and deny him a third goal in four games.
ARSENAL SUBS: Lacazette, Wilshere, Ospina, Chambers, Maitland-Niles, Kolasinac, Elneny
EVERTON SUBS: Robles, Rooney, Tosun, Sigurdsson, Davies, Calvert-Lewin, Holgate
RESTART! There is news of a couple of changes to bring you, as Kolasinac has replaced the injured Monreal at left-back for Arsenal and Tom Davies comes on for Michael Keane in the Everton ranks. A four-man backline for the Toffees.
Allardyce has changed things around at the break, then, but will is have any impact on the game? It will surely be a case of damage limitation for now - a four-goal defeat is bad; five, six and seven is even worse. It could so easily still get that bad.
YELLOW CARD! Mustafi clatters into an opposition player to concede a free kick and pick up his third caution of the Premier League campaign. Everton could do with a goal just to lift their travelling army of supporters.
OFF THE POST! Everton should have one back. Walcott with a delightful cross from the right, which got the beating of Arsenal's covering defenders and Cech, but striker Niasse could only turn the ball against the post.
Arsenal led 4-0 against Crystal Palace in their last home league outing, remember, and they were unable to add to their tally on that occasion. Wenger still has Lacazette to come off the bench today, likely in the next 10 minutes.
SAVE! Everton incredibly stretched and it looks like a fifth goal is about to follow. Mkhitaryan is given freedom to shoot, but the ball gets stuck under his feet and the attempt is weak, which a grateful Pickford keeps out.
Wenger may be tempted to make a second change in the next few minutes to keep his side fresh. Fixture congestion is not a huge concern at the moment, though - this is the Gunners' only home Premier League match in the month of February.
EVERTON SUB! Theo Walcott makes way to a standing ovation, replaced for the final half an hour by Dominic Calvert-Lewin. Wonder if the response would have been so heart-warming had the Gunners not been in such a commanding position?
Arsenal have created just the one real opening in this second half so far, with Mkhitaryan being denied by Pickford from his tame attempt. Everton have come closest to a goal, in fact, as Niasse hit the post with his effort.
GOAL! ARSENAL 4-1 EVERTON (DOMINIC CALVERT-LEWIN)
Not quite game on in North London, but Everton do at least have a goal to celebrate. Davies played the ball out wide and Calvert-Lewin was there to meet it when it came back into the middle. An impressive header from the substitute forward.
That is now eight matches without a clean sheet for Petr Cech. This game is proving to be a replica of the Palace clash last month, when the Eagles hit back at four goals down to restore just a little pride against the rampant Gunners.
A second Everton goal will make things a little more interesting, but until it arrives Arsenal will continue to see this one through in first gear. Cech's evening appears to be over following an earlier collision, with the physio on the field again.
ARSENAL SUB! Cech, who has played every minute in the Premier League so far this season, is replaced by David Ospina. The Colombian keeper has four clean sheets in his nine previous cup outings in 2017-18.
Ramsey is unlucky when attempting to turn inside the box, seeing the ball just roll out of play. Two enforced changes for the Gunners so far, then, but the third appears to be the manager's own call as Wilshere is being readied to come on.
GOAL! ARSENAL 5-1 EVERTON (AARON RAMSEY)
Aaron Ramsey completes his hat-trick, with what will be his final touch before being taken off. The Welshman no doubt saw his number being readied and hovered around the penalty spot, tucking the ball past Pickford once picked out by Mkhitaryan.
ARSENAL SUB! Here comes that final Arsenal change, with Wilshere - suffering from illness over the last week - on for hat-trick hero Ramsey. The Welsh midfielder now has four goals against the Toffees this season.
EVERTON SUB! I make that a hat-trick of assists for Henrikh Mkhitaryan, too - the latest Emirates Stadium hero. Cenk Tosun has just been brought on for Oumar Niasse to see out these closing 10 minutes or so in North London.
All six subs now made, a couple of which were enforced from Arsenal's perspective. Not seen a lot of Aubameyang in this second half but he will be asked to see out the full 90 minutes... a penny for Lacazette's thoughts!
Pretty desperate times for Everton now, though they have just two more fixtures to come against the division's heavyweight sides - the next of which is against Manchester City on March 31. Arsenal have Spurs and Man City in their next two league outings.
The evening could not have gone much better for Arsenal - a comfortable victory to boost confidence; a debut goal for Aubameyang; hat-trick of assists for Mkhitaryan; and an all-round impressive display. The only blemish was that Calvert-Lewin goal.
The referee is likely to only add on a few minutes of stoppage time, which tends to be the case when a team is being thrashed. Still a few minutes of normal time left for Arsenal to add to their tally on home soil, though.
Now into the final minute of normal time here. Arsenal have not really tried adding to their tally since Ramsey completed his hat-trick, perhaps taking some sympathy on Everton who have been truly shocking from start to finish.
Just two minutes have been added on in the English capital, with this game petering out since the sixth goal of the evening. Arsenal supporters will be delighted by what they have seen this evening; Everton fans, those that remain, less so.
FULL TIME: ARSENAL 5-1 EVERTON
The full-time whistle sounds at the Emirates Stadium, meaning a return to winning ways for Arsenal - and in quite some style, too! Four first-half goals were followed up by a fifth via the boot of Aaron Ramsey in the second half, rounding off his first Premier League hat-trick.
That concludes Sports Mole's live text coverage of events from North London. An on-the-whistle report can be found by clicking here, while reaction from this one-sided affair can be found elsewhere on the site in due course. Thanks for joining!
