Roberto Martinez challenges Everton to create history at Arsenal after Man Utd defeat

Roberto Martinez has challenged Everton to create history at Arsenal

ROBERTO MARTINEZ has challenged Everton to create history at Arsenal as he demanded a positive reaction from the demoralising defeat to Manchester United.

 

Everton have not won away at Arsenal since 1995-96 when Andrei Kanchelskis and Graham Stuart scored in a 2-1 win at Highbury and Martinez wants to put that right.

He saw his side lose 3-0 at home to Manchester United last weekend and Martinez said: “It was a really bad day for us.

“It was one of those results that you could not see coming. You didn’t expect. As a team we want to get back to our level, the level we have showed consistently this season, and now we will have to do it at one of the hardest arenas in the league and one of the hardest oppositions.

 

“You see what Arsenal achieved in the league in recent weeks and especially in the game against Bayern Munich when they deserved to win.

“We are going to find a team in the best moment of confidence and belief.

“But we need to look at ourselves and react from what happened in our performance last weekend. I don’t think a team as experienced in those European nights as Arsenal will suffer a hangover from the Bayern game.

 

Craig Short battles with Dennis Bergkamp during Everton's last win at Arsenal in 1996

“I don’t think they will have any negative effect. If anything, they get incredible momentum from that win.

“Historically, it is not a fixture that we do too well in as a football club. So that is an added incentive for us to make sure we can change that round and that would be a good way of finishing a block of 10 league games.”

Tom Cleverley, Steven Pienaar and Bryan Oviedo all played for the U21s in midweek and Martinez must decide whether to include them straight away in his travelling squad.