Manager Martinez denies Everton have advantage against Arsenal

Arsene Wenger’s side travel to Merseyside for a Premier League encounter just four days after they were held to a goalless draw by Besiktas in the first leg of their Uefa Champions League play-off tie in Istanbul.
Everton beat Arsenal 3-0 in the Premier League at Goodison Park in April and the London club can expect a stern test in their first away game in the top flight this season.

Different opinion
Martinez (pictured above) is uncertain that his Everton side’s chances of pulling off a repeat performance will be enhanced by the fact that their opponents will be playing their third game in the space of a week.
“It depends how you look at it,” said the Everton manager.
“I’m looking at Arsenal with the experience and know-how they have and don’t think playing on Tuesday is going to affect them negatively.
“They have a big enough squad to cope with that and the mentality to cope with that.
“If anything, it could be a positive because you can get rid of that rustiness and can get you into a real competitive frame of mind straight away.”

MIXED FEELINGS

Martinez also has mixed feelings over whether playing what could be a rival for a top-four finish so early in the new campaign is a good thing.He said: “You want to play teams like Arsenal early on in the season when they are not hitting their top potential, but when you see them in Turkey, you see them reaching full levels very quickly, and that could be a negative for us. “We need to replicate the level of performance from when we faced them last year.”