‘I would never’ – Gabriel Jesus refuses to knock on Mikel Arteta’s door despite Arsenal hat-trick

Here’s how the players rated

DAVID RAYA – 6/10

No save to make. Could have lounged in the dressing room for the majority of the 90 minutes.

MYLES LEWIS-SKELLY – 7

Started where he left off in mid-week in the Champions League, picking up great pockets of space in midfield and linking defence to attack with pace and precision.

GABRIEL – 6

Incredible recovery tackle to deny Doucoure with Saliba down injured. Well marked at corners with Everton doubling up on the Brazilian.

WILLIAM SALIBA – 6

Lucky not to see Everton take the lead when he was down and out of position, but other than that was fairly untroubled.

JURRIEN TIMBER – 5

Tried his best to insert some pace and urgency down the right-hand side but lacking in attacking areas.

DECLAN RICE – 5

A rare anonymous showing from the England international. Did not do enough to impose himself but for a few decent tackles. No shock to see him hooked after 62 minutes.

MIKEL MERINO – 6

Showed glimpses, but still needs to get up to speed with pace Arsenal want to play at through the middle.

MARTIN ODEGAARD – 6

Blazed over and dragged wide from two good early chances – missing his shooting boots in the first half just like against Monaco – and looked generally off it.

It was still a surprise to see him subbed off just after the hour mark for Nwaneri.

BUKAYO SAKA – 7

Had a field day up against Mykolenko as Everton struggled to contain his brilliant movement and strength on the ball, yet Pickford made save after save.

Got in the way of a free Havertz header towards the end.

GABRIEL MARTINELLI – 6

Lively, especially because he had the beating of Young with some darting runs that kept the 39-year-old busy and was denied by Pickford from a tight angle.

But yet again, was taken off for Trossard.

KAI HAVERTZ – 6

Lacked a serious goal threat but created Arsenal’s best chance with a delicious flick around the corner for Saka.

SUBS:

ETHAN NWANERI (ODEGAARD, 62) – 6

A few nice touches and turns, looking for that trademark left-footed curling finish.

JORGINHO (RICE, 62) – 6

Got on the ball as Arsenal’s primary dictator from deep.

THOMAS PARTEY (LEWIS-SKELLY, 68) – 5

Offered very little.

GABRIEL JESUS (MERINO, 68) – 5

One dangerous cross easily claimed by Pickford was about it.

LEANDRO TROSSARD (MARTINELLI, 74) – 6

A bright spark. A few good crosses as Young tired on the left.

MARCUS RASHFORD is at a crossroads.

But now the England star has to make the biggest choice he has ever faced – does he care about cash, or about his career?

Rashford’s shock admission that he is “ready for a new challenge” after some two decades under the Manchester United umbrella has altered the dynamic around his future.

That Rashford might not fit the blueprint of Ruben Amorim – who has now responded to Rashford’s comments – was not exactly a surprise.

The Portuguese coach prefers a 3-4-3 formation but appears to have settled on Rasmus Hojlund as his starting central striker and wants two “narrow” inside forwards, with the width coming from the wing-backs.

Rashford has always wanted to play through the middle but is often at his best exploiting spaces out wide – and that skillset does not necessarily suit the way Amorim wants to play.

Even so, going public with his evident dissatisfaction at being bombed entirely from the squad for the Manchester derby was a major move, even if he vowed there would be “no hard feelings” if he does leave his boyhood club.

In truth, Rashford has been leaving United almost from the moment he signed that new £325,000 per week contract in 2023.

Something was broken in his connection to the club. His form dropped, his threat dissipated, his issues with the hierarchy deepened.

When Erik ten Hag dropped him for hosting a birthday party after a derby defeat, and he later pulled a sickie to miss the FA Cup game with Newport, it felt even then that the writing was on the wall.

The facts suggest the love affair has ended. After scoring 30 in all competitions to earn that new deal, he has scored just 15 in the 18 months since it was signed.

Amorim’s arrival seems merely to have accelerated what was increasingly inevitable.

Now, though, it is up to Rashford to determine what his future will bring.

If it is only about the money, then his options might be somewhat limited.

It is hard to see a Prem rival coughing up the same £16.9m annual salary – although Rashford’s comments have probably knocked £20m-plus off any transfer fee, even next month.

But Real Madrid have their fill of big-money strikers and Barcelona’s budget remains restricted by La Liga financial controls.

In Europe, then, that probably leaves PSG – but a move to a one-club league.

Or, in the wider world, he could follow the likes of Ivan Toney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Roberto Firmino and Co and head to the Saudi desert.

Lucrative, yep. Certainly a different environment – and that may be exactly what Rashford both wants and needs. But the football? Not in a million years.

What Rashford needs, above all, is to be able to play for trophies and showcase his talents.

There is no better stage than the Premier League – which has far more global eyeballs on it than any other domestic competition.

And in that Premier League there is one club crying out for a goalscoring No 9, especially if he can also play down the left channel to balance out the side and widen its threat.

Rashford has always been more Longsight than London.

Yet Arsenal, and Mikel Arteta, might be the perfect fit.

The Gunners’ lack of a proper scorer is one of the major factors many fans feel has hurt their title challenge this year.

Gabriel Jesus has never been a natural finisher, while Kai Havertz is still a converted midfielder.

And while the link-up between Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka makes their right flank deadly, faith in Gabriel Martinelli on the left is waning.

There have not been too many who succeeded at Arsenal after leaving United – although Danny Welbeck was not a flop.

Rashford has all the attributes to change that history, if he can reproduce what everybody knows is inside him.

And by breaking free, giving himself the chance to start all over, Rashford can make a point to Amorim that will resonate for a very long time.