Arsenal travelled to Goodison Park for the final time in search of three points to cement their hold on second place in the Premier League.
Mikel Arteta made five changes from the 2-1 victory over Fulham as Raheem Sterling and Ben White were among those returning to the starting line up.
Sterling was involved in Arsenal’s opening goal as he broke away and played a wonderfully weighted pass for Leandro Trossard to strike across Jordan Pickford into the far corner.
Myles Lewis-Skelly conceded a penalty early in the second half to allow Iliman Ndiaye to equalise in what was a sloppy start to the second half from the Gunners.
A point for Arteta’s side in a hard fought game against a tough outfit, all eyes will now be on the challenge of Real Madrid.
So, with that being said, here’s a look at a few things that we learned from Arsenal’s clash against Everton.
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Leandro Trossard and Mikel Merino interchanged positions
Despite scoring three in his last four in all competitions, Mikel Merino began the game in his more familiar deeper role in midfield.
Trossard began the game as the central striker and caused problems early on in the game before the two interchanged roles as the game progressed.
Arteta has always been an advocate for fluidity in his teams and Declan Rice was another player that occupied the most advanced role at times.
Arsenal and Everton paid tribute to Kevin Campbell
In the 9th minute of the game, both Arsenal and Everton supporters paid tribute to former striker Kevin Campbell, who sadly passed away in June 2024.
Applause could be heard from all four corners of the ground for the late striker, who made 228 appearances for the Gunners scoring 60 goals in the process.
The forward also made 160 appearances for Everton and goes down as one of their club legends as he notched 50 goals for the Toffees.
William Saliba and Jakub Kiwior stood up to physical challenge
Arteta identified Everton’s physical threat during their 1-0 defeat at Goodison Park back in February 2023 and David Moyes’s side are renowned for having a direct style.
William Saliba and Jakub Kiwior handled Toffees striker Beto with great composure and dominance throughout the game and the early signs of their partnership looks promising.
The next task will no doubt be a bit sterner with the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham visiting the Emirates Stadium but it is a solid foundation for the Gunners centre backs.
Mikel Arteta doesn’t trust Ethan Nwaneri in the number ten role
It is very early days in the career of Ethan Nwaneri but it seems that his manager is yet to fully trust the 18-year-old in the number ten role that Martin Odegaard takes up.
With Odegaard on the bench, it was a perfect opportunity for the Gunners to utilise Nwaneri in the role behind the strikers in order to dictate play and use his creativity.
However, Nwaneri was deployed on the right and instead, Arteta chose to use Trossard, Merino and Rice as the central figures in the side with licence to be fluid.
With Bukayo Saka’s return to the side, it will be interesting to see how Nwaneri’s role develops in the side between now and the end of the season and beyond.
Myles Lewis-Skelly still has a lot to learn for Arsenal
With such a break through season for the Arsenal youngster it can be easy to forget at times that Lewis-Skelly is still just 18 years of age and learning in the senior game.
The young defender had a difficult afternoon for the Gunners, he was sloppy on the ball and dispossessed multiple times in the first half that led to dangerous counter attacks.
At the start of the second half, he was caught ball watching from a long goal kick and fouled Jack Harrison in the penalty area to lead to Everton’s equaliser.
Lewis-Skelly now needs to brush the performance off, learn from his mistakes and ensure he is on his A game for the visit of Real Madrid.
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