Everton went into last weekend’s FA Cup match with Arsenal looking to progress to the semifinals of the competition, but they are left humiliated after a 4-1 thrashing by the gunners.
Even though they had drawn the previous league meeting at the Emirates stadium 1-1, this match was over as a contest long before the final whistle. Olivier Giroud scored two goals, while Romelu Lukaku provided the only consolation for Everton. On the positive side, this defeat means that the club can return to focus on the league, where they have not been doing well in recent months.
Everton has slipped to nine points behind the top four places with only 11 matches left in the season. Finishing in a European place remains the ultimate motto for the team and Martinez says that the club will return to this mode with the weekend’s match against Cardiff. After struggling for form since the arrival of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the club managed to get its first win in a long time last weekend. Hence, they will be confident coming to Goodison Park, but Martinez is hoping to get the better of the relegation threatened team.
He says that it is imperative that the team enjoys its football in the remainder of the campaign.
“There’s massive competition for places in the dressing room and we all know we’ve got six demanding games at Goodison. That’s something we really enjoy, playing in front of our fans and making sure everyone is proud of what we do at Everton. We’ve got 33 points to fight for and it’s an essential moment of the season. We need to get back to enjoying our football at Goodison and being together, as we always are,” said Martinez.
Everton have had just two wins in the last five league matches.
