Arsenal produced an assured display on Saturday afternoon as they beat Everton 2-0 at the Emirates.

With Manchester City losing 2-1 to Aston Villa earlier in the day, the win moves Mikel Arteta’s side level on points with City at the top of the Premier League. Arteta made five changes from the draw in Munich, and Arsenal produced their best first-half display since the Community Shield win over City. But it was the men at the back who did the damage.

Ezri Konsa and Gabriel both score against Everton

Arsenal took the lead in the seventh minute. Everton failed to deal with a dangerous Martin Odegaard corner, and Ezri Konsa stabbed home from close range in front of watching England manager Thomas Tuchel. It was his first goal for the club and, remarkably, Arsenal’s first set-piece goal of the season, prompting a chorus of “set-piece again” from the home fans.

Arsenal doubled their lead in the 69th minute, a minute after Arteta made a triple change. Bruno Guimaraes was involved straight away, finding Ben White on the overlap, and Gabriel Magalhaes rose at the back post to head home White’s cross. It was his first goal since January, and it came on his 200th Premier League appearance.

It meant that, for the first time in 986 days, two Arsenal centre-backs had scored in the same game. The last time it happened was in February 2024, when William Saliba and Gabriel both found the net in a 6-0 win at West Ham.

Gabriel was just as important at the other end. He made a goal-line clearance to keep Arsenal ahead in the first half, and he played on after a scare when he went down holding his hamstring early in the second.

It’s another reminder of how well he and Konsa have gelled since Saliba’s injury. Only last week, Arteta said the win at Nottingham Forest “was not possible without them”, while Forest boss Oliver Glasner described them as “possibly the best centre-back pairing in the world at the moment”. Arsenal kept a clean sheet too, David Raya’s fifth in the Premier League this season.

That will only make Arteta’s job harder when Saliba returns. Konsa has done everything he can to keep his place, and on this evidence, he won’t give it up without a fight. Next up for the pair is a trip to Anfield to face Liverpool next Sunday.