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Everton were left frustrated on Sunday afternoon after they suffered a 3-2 defeat to Arsenal.

The Blues took the lead inside the first minute through Dominic Calvert-Lewin but found themselves behind just after the half-hour mark following two quickfire goals from the home side.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side drew level on the stroke of half-time to set up a finely poised second half.

Yet, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang headed Mikel Arteta’s side into the lead again within 30 seconds of the restart meaning Everton were forced to once again chase for an equaliser.

The Blues battled to draw level and actually finished the match with an Expected Goal (xG) total of 2.4 compared to Arsenal’s 1.3, highlighting they had created the games best chances.

However, Aubameyang’s goal proved decisive in handing Ancelotti just his second league defeat as Everton manager.

Whilst on the whole, the Italian coach will be satisfied with the chances his team created in that game and the overall improvements they have made since his arrival, there is one facet of their play that needs to develop.

Since his arrival, the Blues rank third-bottom in the league for the number of passes completed within 20 yards of the opposition's goal - excluding crosses.

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Their total of 37 completed passes places them one place behind Premier League strugglers West Ham and one place above Burnley who are known for their direct and non-possession based philosophy.

Dominance in this department tends to be a staple of the division’s top-performing teams, highlighted by the fact that the top five sides with the highest number of passes in this area of the pitch are also the league's current top five sides in the table.

Proficiency in this regard can be impacted by a team's style of play, with Wolverhampton Wanderers perhaps being the best example. Their philosophy under Nuno Espírito Santo tends to be to sit in a structured and organised set up and soak up opposition pressure before hitting teams fast on the break.

There is evidence of Everton adopting a similar - although less extreme - version of the same since Ancelotti’s arrival. Proof of this comes when looking at their Passes Per Defensive Action (PPDA) numbers both pre and post-Ancelelotti.

PPDA measures how many passes an opponent is allowed before action is made to attempt to regain the ball. It is essentially a tool for measuring how aggressive a teams press is. Everton’s PPDA before Ancelotti was 8.91, however since, it has risen to 10.07.

Therefore based on the above, you can assume Everton are focusing more on remaining compact without the ball and looking to counter fast in the transitions.

Yet, even so, improvements in this area are required and the same was highlighted on numerous occasions vs Arsenal on Sunday. Both of Everton’s goals came indirectly through defensive errors within the Gunners' defence. This suggested there was an unease throughout the host’s backline.

With the home side's defence looking nervous, it was imperative that the Toffees created spells of sustained pressure, probing and testing the defence with patient build up play inside the attacking third.

However, too often Everton players would rush attacks, forcing passes that weren’t on or attempting wild shots from distance, therein undoing their build up play, alleviating pressure and handing the ball back to Arsenal. An example of this is below.

Everton find themselves in a good position in the final third with Richarlison on the ball. He has several options ahead of him, he can either feed a smart pass through to Andre Gomes making a good run from deep into the penalty area, or he can play a pass out to Bernard who is in an unmarked position on the edge of the box, thereby sustaining the pressure and disorganising the defence.

His third option is a crossed ball to Calvert-Lewin who would have to outjump three Arsenal defenders to win any ball in the air.

Richarlison opts for a rushed cross towards Calvert-Lewin which is easily headed away.

The resulting header falls into the path of Sigurdsson though who has time to take the ball down and asses his options.

He has Bernard alongside him and Djibril Sidibe starting to making a run from deep towards the area of space to their right. The best option here is to maintain possession, feed a short pass to Bernard who can then play to ball out to Sidibe.

This would allow the three Everton attackers in the box to take up decent attacking positions and maintain the pressure on the Arsenal backline.

However, the Icelandic international instead attempts a wild shot from distance which ends up nearer to the corner flag than the goal and kills the momentum of the Blues attack.

This sort of decision making proved harmful for Everton and regularly provided Arsenal’s uneasy defence with moments of relief.

Top teams in the league are comfortable in remaining patient within the attacking third and smothering sides until they eventually cave - and it’s an area of Everton’s game that needs to improve going forward.