Iliman Ndiaye’s second-half penalty earned Everton a valuable point in a hard-fought 1-1 draw with Arsenal in Saturday’s Premier League clash at Goodison Park.
With the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid looming on Tuesday, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta opted to rest key players Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, and Gabriel Martinelli.
Despite the reshuffle, the Gunners were dominant in the opening period.
Leandro Trossard, operating as Arsenal’s central forward, broke the deadlock in the 34th minute.
After Idrissa Gueye misjudged a header, Raheem Sterling pounced and surged forward before finding Trossard. The Belgian attacker shifted the ball onto his left foot and rifled it past Jordan Pickford to cap off a slick move.
Trossard nearly doubled the lead before the break, capping an impressive first half for the visitors. Everton, meanwhile, were met with boos as they trudged off without registering a single shot on target.
But the tide turned almost instantly after the interval. Just 47 seconds into the second half, youngster Myles Lewis-Skelly was caught out by a bouncing ball and, in a panicked attempt to recover, brought down Jack Harrison inside the area.
Ndiaye stepped up and coolly sent David Raya the wrong way from the spot, swinging momentum in the hosts’ favour.
Though Arteta eventually introduced his attacking stars from the bench, Everton held firm. Martinelli forced a strong save from Pickford late on, while Mikel Merino glanced a header narrowly wide, but neither side could carve out a decisive blow.
The result leaves Arsenal trailing league leaders Liverpool by 11 points. With Jurgen Klopp’s side visiting Fulham on Sunday, they now need just 11 more points to clinch the title.
Everton’s point lifts them above Tottenham into 14th, now on 35 points. Despite their poor first-half showing and vocal disapproval from home supporters, Sean Dyche’s men improved notably after the equaliser.
Trossard, who also found the net in this fixture last season, became the first Arsenal player to score at Goodison Park in consecutive league visits since Alexis Sanchez in 2016-17 and 2017-18.
Each of his previous five goals had proven match-winners, but this time, it was Ndiaye who made the difference.
The Senegal international has now netted four times in his last five Premier League starts — surpassing his tally from his first 18 appearances in the division.
Although Arsenal dominated possession with a 77.7% share after the interval, they could only muster two shots on target, the same number as Everton, as both sides settled for a point in a game where the visitors’ title hopes continued to fade.
