Everton 1-1 Arsenal: Leandro Trossard ends scoring drought but Gunners title aspirations dashed in Goodison Park stalemate | OneFootball

As the 2024-25 season draws to an end, Liverpool are within touching distance of a 20th top-flight crown after nearest challengers Arsenal were held to a 1-1 draw at their Merseyside rivals Everton this afternoon.

Mikel Arteta’s side, having played one more game, sit 11 points behind the Reds, meaning Liverpool could move 14 points clear if they beat Fulham tomorrow. They will need only eight points from their last seven games to clinch the title. Third-placed Nottingham Forest could move within two points of Arsenal with a win against Aston Villa later this afternoon.

With a forthcoming Champions League quarter-final date with Real Madrid (first leg at the Emirates on Tuesday), one could forgive Arteta for resting key players—Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Odegaard, Jurrien Timber, and Bukayo Saka starting on the bench before coming on after half-time—and it nearly worked as the Gunners went into the break a goal up through Leandro Trossard before immediately conceding after the restart when Iliman Ndiaye converted from the penalty spot.

Raheem Sterling and Leandro Trossard, both returning to Arsenal’s starting lineup, combined to put the visitors ahead when communication between Idrissa Gueye and Jarrad Branthwaite broke down. Branthwaite was taken out of the game as Gueye’s header broke for Sterling, who stormed into the Everton half. He laid the ball off to Trossard, who fired a low finish past Pickford from the edge of the area.

Trossard is about as two-footed as they come, but that was a well-taken goal on his supposedly weaker side. That effort broke a nine-game Premier League scoring drought for the Belgian, while it is three assists in two appearances for Sterling now, after he set up both goals in Arsenal’s 2-2 draw with PSV Eindhoven.

Six of Trossard’s last nine Premier League goals have put Arsenal ahead; the previous five were match-winning goals. Furthermore, he is the first Arsenal player to score at Goodison Park in back-to-back seasons since Alexis Sánchez in 2016–17/2017–18.

Just when concentration levels were needed, coming back from halftime, Lewis-Skelly came off second best in a physical battle with Jack Harrison, and the full-back eventually dragged the forward down. Referee Darren England took his time before pointing to the spot. Both Michael Dawson and former official Mike Dean called the decision “soft” on Soccer Saturday. “There’s a bit of contact outside and a little bit inside,” Dean said. “I think it’s a soft one. It’s probably not wrong, but it’s a soft one.”

VAR confirms the spot kick. No mistake from Iliman Ndiaye, who scores his seventh Premier League goal of the season, the most of any Everton player. He had a long time to wait to take that penalty, but he was cool, calm, and collected to beat Raya. Ndiaye has scored four goals in his last five Premier League starts, more than in his first eighteen in the competition (three).

Arteta will again rue missed chances, with the Gunners finishing this contest with 71% possession and 14 shots on goal, albeit only five were on target, with a 1.83 xG score.

Having finished as runners-up in the preceding two seasons, two points behind City last time out (although it was decided on the final day), and five the year before (though on that occasion they enjoyed a healthy lead before Pep Guardiola’s men reeled them in and overtook them), this will not sting as much. Two wins from their last six matches suggest that momentum was never on their side, and they will have a fight on their hands to finish second if Liverpool, as many expect, goes on to be crowned Premier League champions.

It now becomes a balancing act: ensuring a third consecutive runners-up finish while attempting to go all the way in the Champions League. The good news is that Arsenal didn’t pick up further injuries ahead of their clash with the defending European champions.

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