David Raya’s selection begins the battle to be Mikel Arteta’s No 1, Fabio Vieira justifies his start over Havertz and the Gunners show patience… THREE THINGS WE LEARNED from Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Everton

• Leandro Trossard scored the only goal in Arsenal’s narrow 1-0 win over Everton 
• The Gunners secured their first win over the Toffees at Goodison Park since 2017 
• Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport’s podcast ‘It’s All Kicking Off’ 

Arsenal maintained their unbeaten start to the Premier League season with Leandro Trossard’s goal earning a narrow 1-0 win over Everton at Goodison Park.

Trossard struck with just 21 minutes remaining of match to break the home side’s resistance, with the Belgian firing in following a well-worked corner.

The result ended Arsenal’s barren run at Goodison Park, a ground the Gunners had failed to win at since 2017.

Mikel Arteta had chosen the match to change his starting line-up with David Raya and Fabio Vieira notable inclusions in place of Aaron Ramsdale and Kai Havertz.

Below, Mail Sport’s ISAAN KHAN recaps three things we learned from the clash on Merseyside, ahead of Arsenal’s return to the Champions League this week.

Leandro Trossard scored as Arsenal earned their first victory at Goodison Park since 2017

The result continued Arsenal’s unbeaten start ahead of their return to the Champions League

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta made changes to his starting line-up for the match against Everton

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Raya’s selection begins the battle to be Arsenal’s No 1

It is becoming a regular occurrence to eagerly await the Arsenal team-sheet to see what new surprise Mikel Arteta has unfurled.

First there was the puzzlement around leaving out Gabriel Magalhaes in consecutive games, starting Thomas Partey at right back and then the continued selection of Kai Havertz.

Yesterday the manager threw another curve ball from his box of tricks: a debut for goalkeeper David Raya, in place of Aaron Ramsdale.

There was always an inevitability he would start at some point. The congested schedule ahead for the Gunners, including the return of Champions League football, had been the rationale for the Spaniard’s signing.

But starting Raya in their fifth league game of the season? That certainly was not on the cards.

He did not have much to do, fielding just the one shot on target. His sweeper-keeper attributes, though, were clear, finding himself near the halfway line on many an occasion. It’s a quality his manager admires. The clean-sheet will also have done wonders for Raya’s confidence.

It will now be intriguing as to who out of Raya and Ramsdale dons the No1 jersey in the next three weeks, with fixtures against PSV, Lens, Tottenham and Manchester City in that period.

Surely whoever does will be Arteta’s main man in goal for the campaign.

David Raya was handed his Arsenal debut by Arteta with the goalkeeper keeping a clean sheet

The decision saw Aaron Ramsdale dropped to the bench after a long spell as first choice

Arteta’s choice in crunch upcoming matches will show his preference as Arsenal goalkeeeper

Fabio Vieira impresses after replacing Kai Havertz 

Arteta is often resolute in his ways. Fan sentiment does not cloud his judgement nor feeling towards players. Havertz was an example of this.

Much noise lingered ahead of the Manchester United game, calling for the manager to drop Havertz. At the same time, Fabio Vieira had been loudly knocking on the door for a place in the starting XI.

Though yesterday showed why dropping the German for Vieira was the correct decision, and why he will play an important role for Arsenal this season.

The first 20 minutes had already seen the Portuguese playmaker at the forefront of the Gunners’ play.

Two of his through balls had been ruled out by offside, the latter having provided for Gabriel Martinelli whose strike was subsequently chalked off.

Later in the match his link-up play came to the fore, which contributed to Leandro Trossard’s winning goal, and stretched the Everton midfield into troublesome areas.

Vieira was lively throughout and has further exacerbated the headache Arteta now has as to how he reintroduces Havertz back into the starting XI.

This will be difficult, with Vieira having performed each time he has been called upon.

Supporters in their droves affectionally signing ‘Vieira, woahh’, which was heard once again, will only add to the sentiment that he should remain a starter.

Fabio Vieira was at the forefront of Arsenal’s attacking play after being handed a starting role

Vieira’s performance increases the headache for Arteta in how to integrate Kai Havertz

Knack of winning and not getting frustrated

The more successful sides in football all share the same characteristic: a knack of winning, regardless of the performance in a match.

Arsenal evidently displayed that trait. Their refusal to grow frustrated from misfortune or a lack of shots on goal will only stand them in good stead going forward.

Take the predicament at half-time, for instance. They had enjoyed 78 per cent of the possession but saw Martinelli’s goal chalked off for offside.

There were also a series of challenges which Everton had escaped punishment for. This included Beto’s elbow thudding into Vieira’s face, and Vitalii Mykolenko’s late challenge to clatter Bukayo Saka.

This, alongside the unwanted record of having not won at Goodison Park since October 2017, could have seen the North London club going into the second half feeling sorry for themselves.

This was not the case. Right from the restart, there was a sense Arsenal in their own minds would not leave Merseyside without a victory by any means necessary.

It is why when Trossard’s goal arrived, there was a feeling of an inevitability rather than being grateful.

It’s a ruthlessness that has not always been engrained in Gunners sides of old. How times have changed.

Arteta’s side refused to get frustrated despite Everton’s resistance for much of the match

Arsenal were rewarded for their patience with Trossard’s winning goal in the second half

IT’S ALL KICKING OFF! 

It’s All Kicking Off is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football.

It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube, Apple Music and Spotify.

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