Arsenal’s title dreams vanish as Everton favour rivals, Liverpool

Everton held title-chasing Arsenal to a 1-1 Premier League draw at Goodison Park on Saturday.

Iliman Ndiaye’s penalty cancelled out Leandro Trossard’s opener for the visitors.

Second-placed Arsenal have 62 points from 31 games, 11 behind leaders Liverpool, who have a game at hand when they go to Fulham on Sunday. Everton climb to 14th place with 35 points from their 31 matches, 15 points clear of the relegation zone.

Arsenal took the lead in the 34th minute with the first shot on target in the game as a poor header in midfield allowed Raheem Sterling to race clear and feed Trossard, who took a touch and drilled his shot low into the far right corner.

Everton were awarded a penalty two minutes into the second period when Myles Lewis-Skelly hauled down Jack Harrison in the box and Ndiaye netted his ninth goal of the season in all competitions to leave Arsenal’s flagging title hopes in tatters.

“It is a tough one, in general we played well but how we started the second half was not good enough,” Trossard told TNT Sports. “We know this is a tough place to come and you need to score the second goal to put the game to bed. In the second half we played too much into their game-plan and not enough of ours.”

There was a touching moment before kickoff as Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta embraced the man he calls his “football father” David Moyes, who had given the former midfielder his introduction to the English game when the Spaniard spent almost seven years at Everton.

The match was a scrappy contest for the most part with neither side able to be at their best, but Arsenal had the better chances and will be disappointed they could not force a second goal. For Everton it was another point towards safety in the fourth-last game at their famous old stadium before moving to a new home next season.

“It is a great point,” Ndiaye said. “We were not good enough in the first half, but we were able to turn things around and everyone came more into it.”

The draw was Everton’s 14th of the campaign, more than any other side has managed, including Arsenal, who are now joint second on that list with 11.

Everton defender James Tarkowski has set a new record for the most yellow cards in Premier League history without ever being sent off.

The 32-year-old center-back reached this milestone during Saturday’s hardfought 1-1 draw against Arsenal at Goodison Park.

The draw dented Arsenal’s title dreams as they failed to cut Liverpool’s lead at the top to nine points.

Tarkowski had earlier bagged a yellow for a reckless challenge on Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister in an ill-tempered game on Wednesday night.

Tarkowski lunges at Liverpool’s MacAllister

Today’s booking was his 64th in the Premier League, surpassing former Chelsea’s Oriol Romeu record of 63.

He has played 301 Premier League matches for Everton and has established himself as a consistent and physical defender.

The Premier League is known for its physicality and intensity, and Tarkowski’s record reflects this. He has been a key player for Everton, but his disciplinary record has raised concerns.

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