Everton will be a buoyant bunch after they broke Arsenal’s 14-match unbeaten streak and got back into favour themselves. After a poor run of form where they were winless in the last 5 games, the win against a formidable Arsenal would have come as a major relief. The Toffees had started off in brilliant fashion and won four of their five opening games. But it was too good to be true with the change in manager and the addition a couple of new signings who usually take time to settle in their new surroundings and get on the same page as their teammates. And it proved to be the case as they have just two wins in the next eleven games.
Although they have Liverpool up next, the rest of the fixtures in December and early January are against Leicester City, Hull City and Southampton. And after a fixture against Manchester City, they again have a run of extremely winnable matches. Ronald Koeman will have recognised the opportunity they have to make a considerable upward foray in the table. But identifying the opportunity and making ti work are two different things. While they have managed to display solidity in the centre of the park and the defence has also shown signs of improvement, one of the main areas which also has the potential to be their trump card hasn’t been the most dependable till now.
Romelu Lukaku is probably their only player who can stake a claim in most of the teams in the Premier League at this moment. And given the hullabaloo over him and the importance of him in the scheme of things, we can expect a bit more from him.
Yes, he is their leading goal scorer with 9 goals in 15 games and yes, he has also provided 3 assists. But given the stature he has at the club and the expectations from him, he has to do better. Lukaku has an unerring habit of ending up with a decent number of goals every season but his main drawback is the frustrating spells he has during the season.
With Lukaku the only out and out striker of such a high level in the team, he is traditionally being played every game. He scores in bulk and goes long stretches without troubling the scorers which results in Everton losing out on important points. The fact that he has scored only 3 goals in his last 8 games, 2 of them coming in a losing cause against Watford demonstrates the very fact.
Koeman and even Lukaku will be realising this and with the Merseyside Derby coming up next, what better way than to get back in form and lead Everton’s Christmas charge up the table.
