Exactly
To understand HOW sentient beings can have free will and ALSO be directed by a totally sovereign God we must look more deeply into their writings to understand how they explain this seeming disconnect.
"...we allow that man has choice and that it is self-determined, so that if he does anything evil, it should be imputed to him and to his own voluntary choosing. We do away with coercion and force, because this contradicts the nature of the will and cannot coexist with it. We deny that choice is free, because through man's innate wickedness it is of necessity driven to what is evil and cannot seek anything but evil. And from this it is possible to deduce what a great difference there is between necessity and coercion. For we do not say that man is dragged unwillingly into sinning, but that because his will is corrupt he is held captive under the yoke of sin and therefore of necessity will in an evil way. For where there is bondage, there is necessity. But it makes a great difference whether the bondage is voluntary or coerced. We locate the necessity to sin precisely in corruption of the will, from which follows that it is self-determined. John Calvin from Bondage and Liberation of the Will, pg. 69-70
I do believe that the traditional "free will" side has exactly the same problem with evil. Since they admit that God is all-knowing, then God created knowing that evil would be part of what transpired. At that pre-creation state, there was no evil. God created and one result was evil. In sum, God did not have to create, but He did anyway, even though it included evil. Therefore, even the Arminian must admit that God's purposes are holy and that it is the result of independent choices that evil came about. That puts God one step away from evil for both Arminian and Calvinist, because both believe in independent choice, although the Calvinist believes that in fallen creation the choices of an evil heart will always be evil.
But, does getting God one step away from being the Author of Evil really get God "out of the dock"? This is a crucial question for both Arminian and Calvinist.
In short, God brought His own Son to Calvary and demonstrated to all the greatest Love ever known. Had there been no evil men and evil cross and evil sin, then that Love could not have been demonstrated.
God created this world to demonstrate His own great Love and, therefore, His own great glory.
Jesus is the "Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."
"Those He foreknew He predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son..."
In short, a purpose in creating, despite all the evil that was necessarily a part of it, removes God from being the perpetrator of evil.
A husband impregnates his wife knowing full well the "difficulty and even death" (evil) she might face as a result. She is certainly an object of admiration for her sacrifice. He, the father, is exultant at her faithfulness. Both are excited about the purpose: a child of their very selves.
Can the husband deny being the "perpetrator of evil" even though he brought about the conditions for it? Yes, he can.
There is a difference between creating the conditions for evil, or the emotions of evil, and being the "perpetrator of acts of evil" among those who can choose.