It was a fairly uncomfortable start for the Gunners, especially as Piero Hincapié and Riccardo Calafiori collided, but Jurriën Timber stopped Thierno Barry from getting an effort off after William Saliba’s unconvincing header from a long throw.
Martín Zubimendi had Arsenal’s first shot in the 19th minute when Michael Keane turned the ball into his path, although he blazed it harmlessly over the crossbar. Gyökeres then headed wide shortly after as Mikel Arteta’s side started to gain more control.
The visitors were given their big chance for a breakthrough when Jake O’Brien handled the ball while trying to deal with a Declan Rice corner.
Gyökeres emphatically converted the penalty to put his side ahead in the 27th minute, scoring his first goal since returning from injury. Arsenal took near-complete control of proceedings after going ahead as they moved the ball around patiently, but that didn’t translate to them testing Jordan Pickford with Rice curling an effort from range harmlessly off-target and Bukayo Saka heading wide.
Everton emerged for the restart defiantly, but Carlos Alcaraz’s attempt hit Barry, before a goalline clearance from James Tarkowski was required to deny Saka after some brilliant link-up play with Timber.
Alcaraz then sent a strike fizzing wide after the ball had bounced precariously around the edge of Arsenal’s box, and Barry continued to make a nuisance of himself.
The Gunners started to create more as the second half progressed, although Leandro Trossard and Zubimendi both hit the post as David Moyes’ side maintained hopes of restoring parity.
Keane then did just enough to stop Saka in a dangerous position on two occasions, and Pickford punched away his corner, but Arsenal saw out the game efficiently to earn their third consecutive win across all competitions, going back above Manchester City at the top of the PL table.
In contrast, Everton have now suffered back-to-back defeats, although both came against sides in the top four, and they stay in the top 10 over Christmas.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Declan Rice (Arsenal)
