Frank Lampard says he is ‘relatively happy’ with Everton’s pre-season workout despite their 2-0 defeat to Arsenal on Sunday morning, as he told Everton TV.
The Toffees boss pointed out that Arsenal played a ‘pretty full-strength’ team in Baltimore and they are in a ‘different phase’ to his side.
Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka were the goalscorers for Mikel Arteta’s side in the first half, with Gunners goalkeeper Matt Turner being the only one to stay out on the pitch from the start in his home country of America.
These two teams met on the last day of the 2021/22 Premier League season, with the London club putting five past those from Merseyside.
Nonetheless, after the conclusion of their pre-season encounter, this is what Lampard had to say about the game and the opposition.
“Relatively happy,” said Lampard. “We lose the game, but Arsenal have played two games already, this is our first on tour, so we are behind a little bit on fitness. But we will level that out.
“I wasn’t so worried about the result. You always want to win the game. We were competitive. There was nothing in it that I didn’t like about the players, in terms of application.
“It was just a set piece and not a nice goal to concede. But other parts of that were pretty good. You have to understand when they put out what looked like a pretty full-strength team and they make some subs, but they leave people on.
“They are in a different phase to where we are at. As I said, that will level out as we go, it was a decent enough start, but I am not standing here celebrating a 2-0 defeat.”
ARSENAL AND EVERTON IN DIFFERENT WORLDS
Heading into the new Premier League season, it seems as though both Arsenal and Everton are going down different roads.
The previous campaign was a big disappointment for both sides because Arteta watched his team finish outside of the Champions League places, whilst Everton battled relegation throughout.
Can the Goodison Park side get out of that mess for next season? Well, improving on the squad would help matters, but at this moment in time, they have lost a big-name player in Richarlison.
James Tarkowski, who played against Arsenal, is one of their new captures, but a few more faces are still needed if Lampard wants to push forward.
As for Arteta, he is hoping for a return to the Champions League, as the former midfielder has been well and truly backed by those in the Emirates boardroom.
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