Everton boss Sean Dyche says Arsenal's strong desire to keep a clean sheet is comparable to reigning champions Manchester City after the Gunners battered his side 4-0 on Wednesday night.
Dyche took the Toffees to the Emirates just weeks after Everton had beaten Mikel Arteta's men 1-0 at Goodison Park. and had been hoping for a similar outcome, but this Arsenal side were in no mood to concede further ground in the title race.
The Gunners bagged two goals in each half, with Bukayo Saka opening the scoring via a thunderous strike that left Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford with no chance despite the fact that it reached the back of the net via his front post.
Arsenal's second came about after a mixture of some impressive pressing from Saka and Gabriel Martinelli and some disastrous defending from Idrissa Gueye. The Senegal international was caught dwindling on the ball by Saka, which in turn put through Martinelli who made no mistake.
Dyche discussed Arsenal's pressing after the game and linked their methods to that of Pep Guardiola's City side.
"One thing I noticed with Arsenal tonight and I've seen Man City do it as well, they keep a clean sheet and they are throwing bodies to keep a clean sheet. Alex Iwobi running down the right and there are four bodies around him, that's when you're super confident.
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"When players are playing with freedom - not just attacking, everyone sees attacking but as a manager you see the defensive side of it in transition, the hard work that teams are putting in.
"Man City have done that for years, we can all talk about their passing it is amazing at times but trust me if the ball turns over at Man City they are after you, they shut you down very very quickly, their habits are good and I think Arsenal showed that in the second half in particular that their habits were good."
Arsenal's second-half display was notably dominant and Martin Odegaard's strike was followed by Martinelli notching his brace to cap off a fine display.
Arteta could barely contain his delight with the manner of his side's victory and insisted it sent a message to those around them in the title race.
"It's a statement that we're here [top of the table] and want to continue to do this," the Gunners' boss explained. "When you look at the players every day you can see how much they want it,"
"They are so willing to learn. They can never have enough information. When you have that and the talent they have, good things will happen."
