Arsenal suffered a blow in qualifying for the Champions league after being thrashed 3-0 by Everton at GoodsonPark on Sunday.
The race for the fourth slot is now wide open with Arsenal being ahead of Everton with just a single point, but the gunners have played more games than the Toffees who still have a game in hand.
Everton secured victory after a stirring display in which Arsenal only sporadically tested goalkeeper Tim Howard. Steven Naismith found the net in the 14th minute after Wojciech Szczesny dodged Romelu Lukaku’s shot in the goal to give Everton the lead.
Lukaku was then on target after the half-hour mark when he received a good pass and doubled the score with a powerful shot Arsenal’s midfielder Mikel Arteta scored an own goal to seal Everton’s’ victory to secure all the three points.
Everton manager Roberto Martinez said this win had seen his side overcome an important mental hurdle but refused to be carried away by the on-going debate of making it to the champion’s league.
“We were hoping for a result but what was needed was breaking many barriers – 22 games we played against Arsenal, we only scored one goal or less. “We kept a clean sheet and scored three and looked like we could have scored more. It was a huge three points from a psychological point of view,” the Spaniard added.
Accepting the defeat Wenger admitted that Everton was indeed a strong side but insisted that his side has still to be focused on the up-coming FA semi-final match with holders Wigan United on Saturday at Wembley.
Arsenal who have qualified for the Champions League for the past 16 consecutive seasons are now faced with an uphill task of qualifying for the prestigious tournament in Europe.
AUTHOR: VINCENT BARAZA