By SCM Correspondent at the Hill Dickinson Stadium
THE curtains have barely been drawn at Everton’s brand-new Hill Dickinson Stadium, but Arsenal have already proven they are the ultimate party poopers.
On a day that was supposed to be a historic celebration of the Toffees’ gleaming new 52,000-seater home at Bramley-Moore Dock, Mikel Arteta’s title-chasers showed they don’t care for sentiment.
A clinical Viktor Gyokeres penalty was all it took to hush the Scouse roar and ensure the Gunners head into Christmas sitting pretty at the top of the tree.
For the Everton faithful, the walk to the waterfront was filled with the kind of hope only a £750-million stadium can provide.
The pre-match pyrotechnics were world-class, and the tifo in the South Stand was a work of art.
But once the whistle blew, it was the same old story of Arsenal efficiency.
Spot of Bother
The decisive blow landed in the 27th minute.
Everton’s Jake O’Brien, perhaps caught up in the emotion of the occasion, suffered a moment of madness, clattering into the back of an Arsenal attacker.
Up stepped Gyokeres. The Swede, who had been enduring a bit of a dry spell, showed nerves of steel in the face of a deafening wall of blue noise.
He sent Jordan Pickford the wrong way, burying the ball into the bottom corner and silencing the stadium’s inaugural Premier League party.
Everton threw the kitchen sink at the Gunners in the second half, with Iliman Ndiaye buzzing like a wasp, but the Arsenal backline—marshalled by a colossal William Saliba—was as stubborn as a London traffic jam.
Christmas Number One
Arteta, returning to the city where he spent so many years as a player, won’t care about the aesthetics.
This was his 19th win of the season when scoring first—a ruthless stat for a team that refuses to let leads slip.
While the Toffees will point to the woodwork denying them a late equaliser, the reality is that the Hill Dickinson Stadium is still waiting for its first taste of Premier League points.
Everton might have the best new house in the country, but Arsenal just walked off with the silverware.
