Everton travel to face Arsenal at the Emirates this afternoon, looking to end the season on a high whilst potentially having a huge impact on the Premier League’s title race.
Sean Dyche and co are looking to make it five wins from their last six against Mikel Arteta’s side who are still in with a slim chance of claiming their first league title since 2003/04.
The Toffees will also hoping to make it two wins in a row, following on from last weekend’s 1-0 win against already relegated Sheffield United, with Abdoulaye Doucoure’s first goal in 2024 securing the win for the hosts.
If Everton are to pull off a shock and claim another three points in north London, Dyche will have to brutally drop one player from the starting eleven – with tomorrow potentially his last game for the club.
Why Seamus Coleman should be dropped against Arsenal
Experienced right-back Seamus Coleman has been an excellent servant during his time at Goodison Park, making 421 appearances since 2009, but unfortunately, injuries have caught up with the Irishman in recent years.
He’s only featured 11 times in the league this campaign, with his latest display coming against Chris Wilder’s side last Saturday.
His outing against the Blades was just his sixth Premier League start of the 23/24 season, but he failed to take advantage of the rare opportunity.
The 35-year-old featured for the whole 90 minutes, losing possession 19 times and winning just 37% of the duels that he contested during the victory.
|
Coleman’s stats against Sheffield United |
|
|---|---|
|
Statistics |
Tally |
|
Minutes played |
90 |
|
Possession lost |
19x |
|
Duels won |
3/8 (37%) |
|
Fouls committed |
2 |
|
Successful dribbles |
0/3 (0%) |
|
Crosses completed |
1/2 (50%) |
|
Stats via Sofascore |
|
Coleman also committed two fouls and completed zero of his three attempted dribbles down Everton’s right-hand side, with the ageing full-back – who recently signed a new contract – looking past his best.
With his poor display, coupled with the much-improved quality of the opposition, Dyche must brutally drop the Irishman and replace him with one Toffees player who has excelled out of position so far this season.
The man to replace Coleman against Everton
Ben Godfrey has enjoyed a return to the side in recent months, after only making one appearance up until the middle of December.
However, all but two of his 15 Premier League appearances this season have come in an unnatural right-back position, with the 26-year-old unable to dislodge either James Tarkowski or Jarrad Branthwaite from the heart of Everton’s defence.
He’s taken to his new role exceptionally well, with his best display undeniably coming against Liverpool during the 2-0 win in the Merseyside derby.
Godfrey, who’s been dubbed as “immense” by boxer and Everton fan Tony Bellew, made six clearances and five interceptions, whilst winning two tackles – preserving the Toffees’ clean sheet in a pivotal match for the club.
His pace is key when coming up against quick wingers and with Arsenal possessing rapid players such as Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard, the 26-year-old’s acceleration and tackling ability are potentially able to nullify the Gunners’ attacking threat down the left-hand side.
It may seem a brutal call to bench Coleman, but Dyche must hand the Englishman another opportunity to prove himself ahead of next season.
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The 35-year-old is out of contract at the end of the campaign.
