Arsenal’s slim hopes of winning the Premier League for the first time in 21 years took another blow after a 1-1 draw against Everton on Saturday.
Leandro Trossard gave the Gunners the lead, but Iliman Ndiaye equalised from the penalty spot. The result leaves Arsenal still 11 points behind league leaders Liverpool, who have a game in hand.
Liverpool now need just 11 more points from their last eight matches to win a record-equalling 20th top-flight title.
Before the match, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said that the best way to prepare for their Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid would be to win in Merseyside. But his team selection showed he was already thinking ahead to that big game.
Star players like Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli, Jurrien Timber, and Thomas Partey started on the bench, while Gabriel Magalhaes, Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus were out injured.
Even with so many changes, Arsenal were the better side in the first half. They took the lead through a counter-attack, with Raheem Sterling setting up Trossard to score a low shot past Jordan Pickford – his first league goal since January.
But once again, Arsenal’s problem of not scoring enough goals came back to hurt them, a problem that has followed them all season, even when their full squad was available.
Arteta brought on Saka and Martinelli after half-time to add more attacking strength, but Everton equalised almost immediately. Youngster Myles Lewis-Skelly gave away a penalty after fouling Jack Harrison. After a long VAR check, Ndiaye calmly sent goalkeeper David Raya the wrong way to make it 1-1.
Raya then had to make a strong save from Abdoulaye Doucoure to keep the scores level, as Everton pushed for a second.
As the match went on, Everton seemed happy to defend and hold onto the point, relying on Arsenal’s missed chances to stay in the game.
Arteta brought on Odegaard to chase a winner, but the Norwegian missed a clear chance from Kieran Tierney’s pass. Another excellent cross from Tierney found Mikel Merino, but his header went wide, ending his scoring run.
Everton’s only loss in their last 11 league games came just days earlier against Liverpool. Saturday’s result moved them up to 14th place, now well clear of the relegation zone.
As for Arsenal, the draw means their hopes of lifting the Premier League trophy this season are now almost gone.
