Everton manager David Moyes heaped praise on Arsenal defender Riccardo Calafiori following the Gunners’ 2-0 Premier League win at the Emirates Stadium.
Mikel Arteta’s side went nine points clear of Manchester City at the top of the league yesterday after a victory over the Toffees. However, they had to work hard for the result.
Viktor Gyokeres broke the deadlock in the 89th minute of the encounter. Max Dowman delivered a stellar cross in the lead-up, and he went on to score the Gunners’ second goal.
The youngster became the youngest-ever Premier League goalscorer at 16 years and 73 days.
Speaking after the game, Moyes said he was gutted by the outcome. The 62-year-old was still blown away by Calafiori’s excellent piece of defending.
Dwight McNeil seemed on course to open the scoring in the first half, but the Italian left-back came up with a superb scorpion kick block to deny the Toffees.
In his post-match presser, Moyes said that the block from Calafiori was ‘unbelievable’ and ‘amazing’ and went on to praise the Gunners’ defensive resilience this term.
He told reporters: “The block from Dwight McNeil by [Riccardo] Calafiori is unbelievable, and it tells you a little bit about who Arsenal are, they’re fighting for it, they are defending their goal with their lives.
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“Probably Raya made more saves than Pickford, but the block from Calafiori was amazing.”
In a separate interview with Sky Sports (via BBC Sport), he said: “The bigger thing for me was the block [Riccardo Calafiori]. It tells you a bit about how good they are defensively. They are wholly defending that goal. So you have to praise them for that.”
Calafiori made his first league start for the Gunners since February 4. He had a lively outing against the Toffees, completing 93 percent of his passes. He had a pass completion rate of 100 percent (28/28) in the opposition half until his 73rd-minute substitution.
The former Bologna man also made six recoveries and won 100 percent of his aerial duels (4/4). It was a fine performance from the Italian. He was replaced by Piero Hincapie, who made a big difference with an assist for Gyokeres’ easy tap-in before stoppage time.
Hincapie has been the regular left-back for the Gunners since the turn of the year. The Ecuadorian is most likely to be reinstated in the starting XI when Arsenal host his parent club Bayer Leverkusen in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 on Tuesday.
Still, Calafiori could have a role to play off the bench if required. After the Leverkusen tie, Arsenal will take on Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley Stadium on March 22 before the final international break of the campaign.