Toffees force Arsenal comeback

Arsenal struck three times in the second half to come from a goal down versus a battling Everton side.

Nasri, Van Persie and Walcott seal 3-1 home triumph

Arsenal struck three times in the second period to come from a goal down against a battling Everton side at Emirates Stadium on Saturday. The Gunners were far from their best in the first half and were punished on nine minutes when Leon Osman slotted home from close range. Arsene Wenger's side went in at the break staring at a third Premier League loss of the season, however they were much improved after the interval as Samir Nasri fired low past goalkeeper Tim Howard to level. They then completed the comeback with 20 minutes remaining with Robin van Persie heading home a rebound, before Theo Walcott, on as a substitute, dispatched in the dying stages.

Surprise

Arsenal were looking to improve on their last Premier League game at home, when surprise package Hull City pulled off a shock, but deserved, win. But after what was a low-key start, Everton took an early lead. The ball was knocked up field and dropped back to Osman. The midfielder played a pass out wide to Steven Pienaar on the left, continued his run into the area to meet the return cross and stabbed the ball past Manuel Almunia. Arsenal - who had only lost two games since arriving at their new home in 2006 - were stunned into action, and soon lifted the tempo. Cesc Fabregas fired over from 20 yards as the Gunners pressed. Arsenal should have been level when Van Persie beat the offside trap and collected a long pass from Fabregas into the area ahead of Joleon Lescott. The Dutchman turned superbly, only for his shot to be blocked by a brilliant reaction save from American keeper Howard. In the 22nd minute, Arsenal defender Kolo Toure, captain in William Gallas' absence, needed treatment for a shoulder problem after falling awkwardly at a corner. Gael Clichy picked out Emmanuel Adebayor with a deep cross from the left, but the towering African could not keep his header down. Emmanuel Eboue then presented Van Persie with another great chance after a clever angled pass, only for the Dutchman to blaze the ball over from 20 yards. After 30 minutes, Lescott pulled back Van Persie just outside the area on the right, and was cautioned. The Holland forward took the free-kick himself, which Howard had to punch away double-fisted as it was whipped towards the far post. With seven minutes to half-time, Everton went close again when Lescott's downward header from a Leighton Baines cross was cleared off the line by Clichy. Fabregas flashed a 25-yard effort just wide of Howard's right-hand post and then from close range dragged a shot across goal to sum up a frustrating opening 45 minutes by the off-key Gunners. Toure had been struggling and was unable to continue for the second half, with Alexandre Song moving from the right into the middle and Eboue dropping back as Walcott came on.

Action

It was Almunia though who was called into action right away, as Yakubu Aiyegbeni got on the end of a knockdown by Marouane Fellaini. Arsenal, though, were soon pressing down on the Everton goal and drew level through Nasri on 48 minutes. A corner was only half-cleared, with Denilson playing the ball back to the edge of the area, where Mikael Silvestre - making a belated debut after signing from Manchester United - touched it back to Nasri, who drilled a low strike past the defenders and an unsighted Howard. Suddenly the Emirates Stadium faithful had found their voice again and the team responded with a number of free-flowing moves. Van Persie blazed the ball over when it fell to him 12 yards out and then looked to have a strong penalty claim when he went down under a challenge from Baines - but the referee was having none of it. Peter Walton was then centre stage once more when Tony Hibbert went in late on Denilson and was involved in some unnecessary afters with Clichy which saw a brief melee. The Northamptonshire official, though, decided a yellow card was sufficient punishment for both men. Arsenal continued to press, but were confronted by a wall of blue shirts around the penalty area. However, they finally found a way through on 70 minutes. Adebayor went into the left side of the box, before setting up Fabregas. His strike was parried by Howard - and Van Persie was on hand to nod the ball in, despite the best efforts of Baines on the line. Abou Diaby came on for his first appearance of the season to replace Nasri - and promptly set up Walcott to make it 3-1 in stoppage time.

Arsenal	Team Statistics	Everton
3	Goals	1
0	1st Half Goals	1
11	Shots on Target	2
8	Shots off Target	4
6	Blocked Shots	1
7	Corners	4
9	Fouls	16
5	Offsides	5
2	Yellow Cards	4
0	Red Cards	0
85.2	Passing Success	71.4
29	Tackles	20
65.5	Tackles Success	90
63.9	Possession	36.1
58.6	Territorial Advantage	41.4