Everton vs Arsenal: 5 Talking Points as Toffees drop to relegation zone

#4 Ronald Koeman gets his tactics horribly wrong

Ronaldo Koeman's formation did not work against Arsenal

Everton have been deployed in every possible formation in the Premier League this season - be it a back-three or a back-four as Koeman attempted to shoehorn his new signings into the XI. The squad is bursting at the seams with no.10s and the starting lineup against Arsenal saw him make his first big mistake.

The Toffees were initially deployed in a back-three but he started both Wayne Rooney and Dominic Calvert-Lewin up front. Gylfi Sigurdsson took up the playmaker's mantle but the midfield was a gaping hole with just Idrissa Gueye taking on Arsenal's midfield by himself.

Gueye initially held his own before succumbing to Arsenal's relentless and quick one-touch passing. When Koeman switched to a back-four in the second half by withdrawing Ashley Williams (because he was on a yellow card and struggling against Lacazette), it made things more difficult for Gueye as both Tom Davies and Nikola Vlasic poured forward in search of an equaliser.

Gueye gets his marching orders

The result? Gueye, who was walking a fine line after a booking, eventually received his second booking and reduced Everton to 10 men. Arsenal never looked more comfortable following the red card, scoring twice and never giving the home side a sniff of goal - until Oumar Niasse pounced on a terrible back-pass in stoppage time, of course.