Everton Football Club News

• Nickname:Toffees
• Founded:1878
• Manager:David Moyes

• Ground:Goodison Park
• Capacity:42,440

Round praises Arteta display

29 Dec 2008 - 09:23:22

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Everton midfielder Mikel Arteta took the plaudits after his superb display in the 3-0 victory over Sunderland at Goodison Park.

The Spanish midfielder scored twice in the first half against the Black Cats, before having a hand in Dan Gosling's late clincher, earning high praise from Toffees assistant boss Steve Round.

He said after the win: "A lot of good stuff came from Mikel, he has that sort of talent. He scored two, one with an exceptional free-kick.

"But I was delighted with his overall performance, he was exceptional. He controlled the game and the tempo and made a lot of telling passes.

"Mikel has never been a prolific goal scorer, but that is his challenge now. We know he can create and assist, but we want him to take more on board."

Of his side's goals for the second half of the season, Round added: "We are very pleased with six points over the festive period, we did well on Boxing Day and we deserved the three points here as well.

"We have some momentum, we are in a good run of form and we are staying in touch with the top clubs.

"If we can keep this going until March then we will be in contention for the top six and the Champions League.

"We do not have the finances to compete with the big boys, but we try to get there on organisation and spirit, adding quality when we can."