'Proud' Dyche Sets New Challenge After Battling Arsenal Point

Sean Dyche hailed the tactical performance and application of his Everton players after a solid team display earned the Blues a point at Arsenal.

The Toffees continued to build positive momentum following an emphatic 4-0 home win over Wolves - recording a sixth clean sheet from their past nine games at Emirates Stadium, where the Gunners are unbeaten so far this season.

Speaking to evertontv afterwards, Dyche said he was “super proud” of his side, while setting the challenge of continuing to develop their attacking threat amidst a busy and testing festive period.

He said: “I’m super proud of the players, I always am, but I think today more so in the sense that it's quite apparent you're highly unlikely to come down to this place - or a few others in the Premier League - and dominate the ball, [so the challenge becomes] how can you deal with it without the ball? And I thought that side of things, the tactical side of things, the commitment to the performance was terrific.

“It’s a group of highly-motivated players who were willing to do the hard yards and bring that teamship to the fore and I think there was a real good show of that today. 

“We had our moments. I’ve been mentioning it many times - that killer last pass, that killer finish, and it’s an ongoing challenge. It's not easy at places like this and I thought the resilience of the side, and also the respect for each other, because it's not easy when you're working from a defensive base for that long in a game. 

“The midfield three, I thought, were terrific, the full-backs were terrific, and virtually everyone from that side of the game. It's a big part of the game - without the ball. Of course, you've got to try and play well with the ball and want to be exciting. 

“We had a great last-time performance winning 4-0 but what about when you come to these places? What about working without the ball? I thought we were very good in that respect today.”

The result means Everton have only tasted defeat twice in their past 11 outings.

Next up is the visit of Chelsea to Goodison Park on Sunday 22 December (2pm GMT).

“These players have been through a lot, as have I, since I took over,” continued Dyche. “The group continues to stay committed to the cause. You can clearly see there's a lot of motivated players for themselves, for the team, for the Club, for the badge.

“That’s a good mix. Now, of course, we want to add killer edge to it, but there has to be an underbelly and a fabric - and the fabric is strong here.

“If we can add layers on top of that then that's great but we have to remain with that base because that's served us well and it will continue to serve us well.

“Looking ahead [to Chelsea], we certainly want to carry the feel-good factor of the last game at home where we were scoring goals and then the different kind of solid performance that was needed today. We want to bring that teamship, that energy into Goodison for another home fixture and take the game on.”