Everton manager Sam Allardyce has described his side's first-half performance during their 5-1 defeat at Arsenal as "pathetic".

The Toffees found themselves three goals down within 20 minutes at the Emirates Stadium and were four behind by half time as the Gunners effectively wrapped up the points before the interval.

Allardyce accused his players of being too inconsistent in a scathing attack after the match, suggesting that he faces an "uphill battle" to get the best out of them on a weekly basis.

"It was a disaster. I think I have a lot of trouble with the players taking onto the pitch what we asked them to do," he told BT Sport.

"Consistency has been a worry since that burst when I came in, the fact we can perform at that level against Leicester then dip so low in the first 45 minutes against Arsenal.

"The longer and longer I go on, the players are showing so much inconsistency that I face an uphill battle trying to get them to play at their best week in, week out. It was a pathetic first-half performance."

Everton have now won just one of their last nine games across all competitions.