Everton Fight Back to Secure Draw Against Arsenal as Title Hopes Wane

Everton may have inadvertently hastened Liverpool’s title celebrations by holding Arsenal, their closest competitors, to a 1-1 draw at Goodison Park, which extended the Toffees’ winless run in the league to six matches.

Following the disappointment of a Merseyside derby loss midweek, Everton could not afford a sluggish start against Arsenal.

A glaring mistake nearly gave the Gunners the opening goal when Jordan Pickford’s poorly executed clearance just minutes into the match failed to result in a goal.

Arsenal still had work to do, and Raheem Sterling squandered a golden opportunity to put them ahead, with his shot from 12 yards brilliantly blocked by Tim Iroegbunam.

The Toffees struggled for momentum in the first half and were ultimately punished when a rapid Arsenal counter-attack culminated in Leandro Trossard slotting the ball across Pickford and into the bottom right corner.

Everton’s best chance of the half came thanks to a generous back pass from Ben White, allowing Beto to capitalise, rounding David Raya, only for his cut-back to be cleared to safety.

Mikel Arteta’s side will be kicking themselves for not going into the break with a two-goal lead. Trossard was once again in the thick of it, getting behind the defence, but Pickford denied him, and Declan Rice’s follow-up attempt was heroically blocked by James Tarkowski.

Despite Arsenal’s dominance in the first half, their efforts were undone just five minutes after the break.

Recently capped Miles Lewis-Skelly misjudged the ball’s bounce and fouled Jack Harrison in the box, leading to a prolonged VAR check before Iliman Ndiaye converted the resulting penalty.

Arteta had brought on Bukayo Saka at half-time, but it was one of Arsenal’s marquee signings, the £100m Declan Rice, who nearly levelled with a free-kick that was blocked by his English teammate Pickford.

While it may be harsh to label the Gunners’ display as indicative of a side resigned to the title slipping away, it certainly felt like an end-of-season performance.

Gabriel Martinelli nearly found a last-minute winner with a curling shot that forced yet another incredible one-handed save from Pickford. In the end, the Gunners had to settle for a point, bringing Liverpool even closer to the title, while the result did little to help Everton’s position this season.