Everton v Arsenal LIVE: Gunners held as Liverpool offered Premier League title boost by rivals
Everton 1-1 Arsenal: Iliman Ndiaye’s penalty cancelled out Leandro Trossard’s opener at Goodison
Everton held Arsenal to a 1-1 draw at Goodison Park to help rivals Liverpool take another step towards the Premier League title.
Iliman Ndiaye’s penalty shortly after half time cancelled out Leandro Trossard’s opener and means Liverpool will have the chance to open up a 14-point lead at the top of the table if they defeat Fulham at Craven Cottage tomorrow.
Mikel Arteta started with Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli on the bench ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final first leg against Real Madrid as Trossard fired the Gunners in front on the counter-attack.
But Myles Lewis-Skelly brought down Jack Harrison moments after the restart and Ndiaye equalised from the spot. Saka, Odegaard and Martinelli were brought on but Arsenal’s best chance fell to Mikel Merino, who headed wide.
Liverpool could win the title by the end of the month if they win their next four games. The Reds play Fulham on Sunday, followed by West Ham, Leicester, and Tottenham on 27 April.
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Arsenal frustrated on final trip to Goodison Park as Mikel Arteta turns attention to Real Madrid clash
For one of the more stylish midfielders to grace Goodison Park in recent decades, a farewell came in the form of a warm-up for a very different test. There was a time when it seemed as though Mikel Arteta may return to Everton as manager. Instead, as Arsenal targeted the unproven Arteta, they were seduced by the glamour of Carlo Ancelotti, meaning a swift volte-face when they withdrew the offer of the job to a certain David Moyes. Now it is Ancelotti and Real Madrid for Arteta.
His Goodison goodbye contained preparation, frustration and a bit more of Myles Lewis-Skelly’s education. A draw renders it still likelier the Premier League title will return to Merseyside, with Liverpool now only requiring another 11 points to make it mathematically certain. But if Arteta’s team selection, with Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli only substitutes, indicated he has the Champions League in mind, he has plenty to consider.
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Arsenal endure frustrating draw at Everton as Arteta turns attention to Real Madrid
When can Liverpool win the Premier League title?
Liverpool took another step closer to the Premier League title as rivals Everton held Arsenal to a 1-1 draw at Goodison Park.
The Reds are on 73 points through 30 games and need just 11 more points to secure the title - starting with Sunday’s trip to Fulham.
Arsenal’s draw at Everton means Mikel Arteta’s side are only able to obtain a maximum of 83 points, with seven games left to play.
The truth is that Liverpool are edging towards another top-flight title – but when is the earliest that they could clinch number 20?
When can Liverpool win the Premier League title?
Could we see Everton in Europe?
“I think Everton need to be a club who’s trying to shoot for the stars if we can,” Moyes continues. “This week we’ve played Liverpool and Arsenal who are way better than us in footballing terms, but I think in both games we’ve tried to make it as equal as we can, tried to get something out of it.
“We need to bring in some more quality players to add to the squad that we’ve got. And if we can do that I hope we can keep building. The run that we’ve been on at the moment, if we can keep it going, we’re probably up with some of the best teams in the Premier League at the moment.”
From relegation fodder to challenging to Europe... could Everton mimic Nottingham Forest’s rise?
Moyes refusing to count his chickens
“I think we’re getting much closer [to safety], but until it’s mathematically impossible, we have to make sure that we don’t say too much,” Moyes says - even though Everton are 15 points clear of the drop now.
“But it’ll be very hard for other sides to get close to where we are now. I’m planning to visit this week, I hope I’m not counting my chickens! I’ll start to see how it’s looking and what we need to do as well.
“When I was getting the job I was saying, ‘my goodness, if I take Everton down it’ll be an absolute disaster, I don’t know where I’m going to live, let alone anything else!’ The big thing is the players have really responded well, and we’ve started to look a threat. Even today in the first half, we still had a threat. So for me that’s the biggest thing, we’ve started look as if, I’m not going to say exciting but we’re a bit more likely to score than [before].”
Moyes concedes penalty may have been 'good fortune'
Hearing from Everton manager David Moyes on TNT Sports now.
“I thought we were really poor in the first half, incredibly poor decisions at times,” he says. “But I thought the second half, we got a little bit about them at half -time, we expected more from them, whether it was good fortune or whatever we got a penalty early on which settled us don a little bit more.
“So much happier about how we performed in the second half. We always had to make it difficult for Arsenal, we couldn’t go toe to toe and play a nice pure football game with them, we had to make it as tough as we possibly could.”
Moyes also suggests that the quick turnaround from their game at Anfield on Wednesday night might be partially to blame for their poor start, as he says Everton aren’t used to playing games so close together.
'We want to give everything for our fans' - Ndiaye on final few games at Goodison Park
More from Iliman Ndiaye, who scored the equaliser.
“Obviously it wasn’t good enough in the first half, [David Moyes] told us to change, go out and turn things around, and everyone brought more into it,” he continues.
“It’s important [to end the season on a high] and I feel very excited - the more we play games here the less there is. We want to give everything for our fans that have been here a long time, just want to finish with hopefully all wins for the last three games.”
'I wanted to give the penalty to Beto' - Iliman Ndiaye speaks
“I think it’s a great point,” Iliman Ndiaye says on TNT Sports. “Obviously we lost earlier this week and we needed to turn things around today and get a result, and luckily we did that today.
“It felt great [to score]. I wanted to give the penalty to Beto but I thought I had it in me to get back on the scoresheet. I’m really happy to be back.”
Goodison draw means Liverpool extend their Premier League lead
Of everyone, it’s probably Liverpool who will be most pleased with the result, although Arteta will be relieved to have no more major injuries ahead of their meeting with Real Madrid.
Everton move above Spurs, 15 clear of relegation in 14th overall, but Arsenal trail the Reds by 11 points - and are looking over their shoulders too, only five clear of Nottingham Forest.
FULL-TIME: Everton 1-1 Arsenal
It’s a draw at Goodison Park, which feels about right. Arsenal dominated possession but couldn’t capitalise on their counter-attacking first-half goal, courtesy of a mix-up by Everton defenders Gueye and Branthwaite, allowing Sterling to slip away and tee up Trossard’s lovely finish.
A soft penalty conceded by Lewis-Skelly allowed the hosts back in, with Ndiaye the picture of composure as he sent Raya the wrong way. Arsenal continued to press but neither side took their chances in the closing stages.
FULL-TIME: Everton 1-1 Arsenal
The requirement for Liverpool is down to 11 points to become champions though, in reality, Arteta's team selection was an admission that Arsenal's priorities have changed. But a fifth draw in six games is a sign of how hard to beat Everton have become under David Moyes.
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