Arsenal sink Everton to join Manchester City at Premier League summit

Arsenal beat Everton 2-0 at the Emirates on Saturday, October 24, 2026, to pull level with Manchester City at the top of the Premier League. The win came at a rainswept Emirates as Arsenal rediscovered their taste for set-piece goals. Ezri Konsa bundled the ball into the net in the seventh minute for his first goal for the club since joining from Aston Villa. Fellow centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes doubled the home side's lead after the break. Arsenal capitalised on Manchester City's 2-1 defeat at Villa Park in Saturday's kick-off, the first time Enzo Maresca's men had dropped points this season. Both teams are now on 21 points, but City, the Gunners' main title rivals in recent seasons, have a superior goal difference.

Match details and team news

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was forced to shuffle his pack after Bukayo Saka suffered a muscle injury in the midweek Champions League draw at Bayern Munich, picking Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze as his wide players. Arteta was already short of wingers, with Christos Tzolis still sidelined and both Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard sold during the summer transfer window. The home team started strongly and took the lead after their third corner, following a scramble in the box. Martin Odegaard's inswinging delivery was flicked on by Gabriel. Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford got his fingertips to the bouncing ball but it fell to Konsa, who poked it home at the back post. Everton responded positively when Tyrique George's shot was deflected behind by Ben White, but Arsenal were largely in control. Madueke impressed on the right wing, spinning and hitting the side netting on the half-hour mark. Arsenal had a major scare as the clock ticked towards half-time when a careless header from Ben White back to his goalkeeper David Raya was intercepted by Thierno Barry, but the Everton forward was unable to make clean contact and Raya made the save. Gunners midfielder Mikel Merino flashed a header over the bar in the closing moments of the half, which ended with 13 shots and 10 corners for the home side, but just the solitary goal. Gabriel went down in pain 10 minutes after the restart, stretching to intercept the ball, but was able to resume after treatment on the pitch. Arteta made a triple substitution in the 68th minute, bringing on Kai Havertz, Bruno Guimaraes and Riccardo Calafiori. Moments later they were 2-0 ahead when Gabriel rose to head home White's cross after a neatly worked move down the right. Everton almost pulled a goal back when Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall flashed a header just wide of Raya's post but that was the last major scare on a satisfactory day for Arsenal.

Title race context

The victory meant Arsenal took full advantage of City's defeat to keep pace in the Premier League title race. Manchester City Football Club, commonly referred to as Man City or simply City, is a professional football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's, they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894. The club's home ground is the City of Manchester Stadium in east Manchester, to which they moved in 2003, having played at Maine Road since 1923. Manchester City adopted their sky blue shirts in 1894, the first season with the current name.

Premier League position after October 24, 2026

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Sources

• The Hindu

• Hindustan Times

• Photo: Ank kumar, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)