Everton 2-1 Arsenal: Ross Barkley strike not enough to save the Blues from defeat

Two quick fire Arsenal goals in the first half were enough to help the Gunners see off Everton 2-1 at the Emirates on Saturday evening.

Roberto Martinez's men found themselves two goals down in rapid time, as first Olivier Giroud flicked a head over Tim Howard, and then Laurent Koscielny powered a header past the keeper just seconds after to give the host a 2-0 lead.

There were echoes of the loss to Manchester United the week before as Everton's defence once again crumbled after conceding and the Blues struggled to get back into the game.

They would give themselves a chance before half time though as Ross Barkley broke free and hit a hopeful shot at Petr Cech, with a big deflection from defender Gabriel Paulista helping it past the keeper.

And in credit to the Toffees, they did give it a good go in the second half as they had a number of chances to try and level the scores and steal a point.

Romelu Lukaku arguably had the best chance as he hit the bar with a header while free in the box, while Gerard Deulofeu squandered a chance when shooting straight at Cech, again when clean in the box.

It wasn't all in favour of the away side though, as Mesut Ozil clipped the post, Giroud came close to a second as he curled onto the bar and Mathieu Flamini headed straight at Howard when free in the box.

An equaliser did not come for Everton though, who suffer their third defeat of the season and their first away from home.

As against Manchester United last week, two quick and poor goals killed off any Everton hopes, while a lack of cutting edge at the other end of the pitch saw them fail to secure an equaliser.

Another disappointing display from Everton then, who's weakness from set pieces is a clear point every team is now looking to exploit. With a hard run of games now coming to an end, and Sunderland up next, the Blues must return to winning ways as soon as possible.