LIVERPOOL, England — If it’s true that this year’s battle for the Premier League title has been a one-horse race for some time, then this was the day Arsenal all but surrendered their hopes of pipping Liverpool at the finishing post.
With one of the world’s most famous sporting fixtures, horse racing’s Grand National, taking place just 3½ miles away at Aintree, Arsenal failed to clear yet another hurdle as they were held by Everton to a 1-1 draw that threatens to stunt momentum ahead of a season-defining week.
Even before a ball was kicked on Saturday, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta appeared to suggest he already had one eye on his team’s mammoth UEFA Champions League clash with Real Madrid. The reigning European champions travel to north London on Tuesday for the first leg of their quarterfinal tie, where what already appeared a difficult assignment for Arteta’s side was made even tougher when it was confirmed on Friday defender Gabriel Magalhães will miss the rest of the campaign with a hamstring injury.
With one of his main men already sidelined, Arteta opted to ring the changes against Everton with captain Martin Ødegaard, winger Gabriel Martinelli and talisman Bukayo Saka — who scored on his return from injury against Fulham in midweek — among the players to be named on the bench for a game which began with them 12 points off the lead with eight fixtures remaining.
“We’ll need to be better than them,” Arteta said of Madrid in an interview with Spanish newspaper AS published on Saturday. “We’ll have to believe it from the first minute, and in the decisive moments we’ll have to be clinical.”
That same approach provided the blueprint for Arsenal’s functional first-half display against Everton, with the hosts struggling to summon the same kind of spirt they exhibited against Liverpool in Wednesday’s fiery Merseyside derby.
In a game that was low on both quality and dynamism, it was Arsenal forward Leandro Trossard who delivered the afternoon’s first meaningful moment; rifling smartly past Jordan Pickford in the 34th minute after Raheem Sterling had pounced on a giveaway from Everton’s Idrissa Gana Gueye in midfield. Though Arsenal had been the better team in the first half, the cumulative halftime expected goals (xG) tally of 1.17 — 0.21 for Everton and 0.96 for Arsenal — told the story of a lackluster contest.
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Arteta attempted to change that at the break, introducing Saka and Martinell in place of Ethan Nwaneri and Sterling. But the visitors were denied the chance to find any rhythm and were pegged back just four minutes after the restart, when the lively Iliman Ndiaye — making his first start since February — stepped up to convert a penalty, controversially awarded for Myles Lewis-Skelly‘s challenge on Jack Harrison inside the area.
As the Everton players wheeled away in celebration, midfield pair Jorginho and Declan Rice attempted to rally their dejected teammates. But, despite dominating the rest of the match — in terms of both possession and chances created — Arsenal never really looked convinced of their own powers of recovery.
Rice saw a decent free kick saved by Pickford before the England goalkeeper stretched brilliantly to keep out Martinelli late on. Ødegaard and Mikel Merino also squandered opportunities as the clock ticked down on Merseyside, though the disjointed nature of the contest was evidenced by the fact the ball was in play for just 19 minutes and 10 seconds in the second half; the lowest in any half of Premier League football this season. The game’s overall ball-in-play time of 43:27 is also the lowest recorded in the top flight this term.
The final quarter of the match felt like something of a concession from Arsenal, which is perhaps understandable considering leaders Liverpool could go 14 points clear at the top of the table with a victory over Fulham on Sunday. Arsenal, though, can ill afford to carry the same mindset into Tuesday night’s tussle with Madrid.
Fortune might not have favored the Gunners this season, but they must still believe they have what it takes to go toe-to-toe with the 15-time European champions, or else they run the risk of their campaign going out with a whimper. Looking ahead to Tuesday’s clash in his postmatch news conference, Arteta said: “It’s one of the most beautiful games you can play in football; in the highest European competition against the team that dominated that competition the last 20-25 years, so we’re really looking forward to it.”
Arteta will surely hope the prospect of such a mouthwatering tie is enough to galvanize his players in the short term. However, Saturday offered further proof of the club’s need to invest shrewdly in the summer to ensure they can continue to mix it with Europe’s elite.
For now, it is Liverpool who will be most cheered by the result at Goodison Park. Arne Slot’s side won’t need more than 11 points from their final eight games to guarantee what would be only a second league title since 1990. It is looking increasingly likely that the destination of the Premier League trophy will already be decided by the time Arsenal travel to Anfield next month. Remaining in contention for the Champions League would at least soften the blow for Arteta’s side.
