Everton could not get back on track in the Premier League on Saturday, and the words of captain James Tarkowski are unlikely to make fans feel better.

The Toffees lost 2-0 against the reigning Premier League champions, and there was no danger of bouncing back from the defeat against Chelsea. Arsenal scored early doors through Ezri Konsa, and then found a second in the second-half through Gabriel.

It was always going to be a tough trip for Everton, who have a poor record at the Emirates Stadium.

But the performance was tepid and uninspiring. And that makes what James Tarkowski said after the game rather strange.

James Tarkowski’s view of the defeat to Arsenal is perplexing

Tarkowski was asked for his thoughts on the game straight afterwards, and for him, there wasn’t actually a great deal between the two teams.

Speaking to Viaplay, he said: “Not much in it. They scored two set-pieces, which they do a lot of work on. Maybe the second one is not officially classed as a set-piece, but it is classed as a second phase and it’s part of reorganising and we know teams work on that as well.

“Disappointing. But it didn’t think there was loads in the game. They had a few more opportunities than we did. But you expect that coming here.”

The reason this is a strange take on the game is because Arsenal were dominant in multiple stats. The Gunners had 20 shots to Everton’s eight, yielding an xG of 1.77 to 0.48. Arsenal also had far more corners and accurate passes (via Sky Sports).

Tarkowski appears to be trying to create the narrative that Everton weren’t far off getting a result against Arsenal. While the scoreline was ‘only’ 2-0, realistically Arsenal were very comfortable in the game.

He spoke with a tone that could well have come from Moyes himself. Moyes spoke about his Everton players making a good enough effort against Arsenal and Chelsea, and that was strange given the Toffees picked up a grand total of zero points.

A lot of Everton fans are fed up of being gaslit at the moment.

Just because the Toffees don’t have the same quality as these sides doesn’t mean fans can’t demand more.

Tarkowski suggested it was closer than it was, but realistically Arsenal were comfortable winners against Everton. It didn’t have to be like that, but Moyes was overly cautious again and the post-match tone from both him and his captain is frustrating to hear. The game was a free hit, but rather than Everton going for it, it was the same story as usual: try to be organised, reactive and nick a result.

It would just be so refreshing to hear some accountability. That Everton came up well short and the plan for next time will be to try and play more on the front foot.

But it just feels like that’s not going to happen while this manager remains in the hot seat.