Everton will need goals if they hope to end a winless run against Arsenal away stretching back to 1996.
Toffees manager Sam Allardyce surprised many by naming Oumar Niasse his first-choice striker against Leicester City at the expense of £27 million signing Cenk Tosun.
It looks like history may just repeat itself against the Gunners.
Big Sam revealed that he cannot name his ‘No. 1’ striker at the moment but then proceeded to say that Niasse is the ‘best player to score goals for us at the moment’, which sounds pretty close to a No. 1 without actually saying the words.
Allardyce said the following when asked if he could name his No. 1 striker in his pre-match press conference ahead of the Arsenal game: “I wouldn’t
“We don’t know too much about Cenk yet, he’s coming from abroad which is the hardest thing to do as a frontman – succeed in the Premier League and especially so in January.
“I think Dominic has been the most consistent performer, I don’t think there’s been any doubt about that since I’ve been here and from what people tell me about before I came.
But if you look at Oumar and Oumar’s minutes-per-goals, it’s exceptionally good. Sadly on Wednesday night he missed two very, very good chances. It could’ve been 2-0 and then after the kick-off it should’ve been 3-0 but he just over-hit that one.
“He could’ve had at least two goals in that game for us which would’ve been fantastic for us and him but the most important thing at the end of the day was we won, which we did.
“But he appears, at the moment, to be the best player to score goals for us at the moment.”
See More: 3 Reasons Cenk Tosun Could End Up Being A Success At Everton
Niasse started against Leicester and even though Everton won, he did not score or provide an assist.
The Senegal international has only scored twice as a starter for Everton since joining the club in January 2016.
The 27-year-old has contributed more as an impact substitute scoring 5 goals and providing one assist.
Tosun meanwhile has yet to score for the Toffees but has played just twice.
The Turkey international was involved in six Champions League goals this season for Besiktas and netted 14 times in all competitions before his transfer.