Across Stanley Park, David Moyes had sworn he had no intention of being a nice neighbor to that Red lot.
But that is what he turned into, and Mikel Arteta will know that Iliman Ndaye’s equalizer from a penalty kick in the match put an end to what had previously seemed like an impossible task.
Even if Liverpool’s lead against Arteta’s injured Gunners has shrunk by one, it is still in the double digits.
The Gunners still have a mathematical opportunity to overtake Arne Slot’s leaders with seven games remaining, but this performance from the second-best club in the Premier League did not imply that a miracle was imminent.
There won’t be a Beechers Brook moment soon.
With the exception of Leandro Trossard’s excellent first-half goal, Arsenal was only mediocre in the main.
In contrast, Arteta chose a side with one eye toward Tuesday’s Champions League final matchup against Real Madrid.
He couldn’t have criticized the effort, but his chances of winning his first championship are little to none. His expression when he shook hands with David Moyes, his opposite number, told it all.
Jordan Pickford had a great shocker, and Arsenal might have easily taken the lead by the second minute.
The England number one, who is renowned for being able to handle a lot of blood, miskicked outside the box and was grateful that Raheem Sterling’s shot was blocked by a group of defenders in his 100th consecutive Premier League game.
Their minds were jumbled by a series of set-piece attacks developed by the team that employs that strategy more effectively than anybody else in the league shortly after Jarrad Branthwaite saved the Toffees.
Before the center defender could head clear, Declan Rice’s left corner was flying into the top corner.
The fact that his own defense, patched up and without Gabriel’s vital presence for the remainder of the season as the newest hamstring injury, occasionally faltered against their opponents’ own bombs-away aerial efforts won’t have come as a surprise to Arteta.
During Pickford’s opposite number David Raya’s rare Prem debut, Polish makeweight Jakub Kiwior had some frightening moments.
Jake O’Brien would have taken the opener if he had reacted faster, but Abdoulaye Doucoure’s head flick struck him in the chest instead.
Later, as O’Brien came back to wreak a bit more mayhem, Mikel Merino would fall.
The Spaniard, who was playing deeper rather than as a substitute striker, required four minutes of treatment for a nasty wound after the two collided head-on.
This was not a brainstorming session. Trossard gave the Gunners the lead in the 34th minute, adding the only memorable moment of the first half despite more bluster and bish-bosh.
Idrissa Gueye’s mistake that allowed Sterling to break from midway in the Arsenal half was definitely a sign of poor quality.
Gueye blocked Branthwaite’s path and sent a header directly to the former England winger, who took off.
He also made a wonderful touch to the Belgian who was waiting, and after veering past O’Brien, Trossard sent in a lovely low left footer past Pickford’s reach.
We witnessed why Tarkowski is such an important muscular presence at the back for the Toffees as Trossard, who plays through the middle as an alternative to Merino, had a second before the interval.
After somehow avoiding a mid-week red card for his “leg-breaker” challenge on Alexis Mac Allister in Liverpool’s 1-0 Merseyside derby victory, which meant Arsenal was starting a dozen points behind the leaders, he really shouldn’t have been on the field at all.
However, his gut is unquestionable.
Tarkowski’s desperate challenge as he shot at Pickford’s chest destabilized Trossard, who was nearly clear through.
The home captain once more threw his body at the shot as the rebound went straight to Rice.
If Trossard had won, Arsenal would have had much-needed breathing room in this fierce encounter that at least showed determination.
Instead, 70 seconds after the restart, Jack Harrison caught Miles Lewis-Skelly off guard, bringing Everton level.
Although he claimed the challenge began outside the box, Enngland’s 18-year-old left-back prodigy was responsible for catching the winger when he landed on the deck.
On his first appearance since suffering an injury in the first Mersey derby this season in February, Ndiaye calmly sent Pickford to claim penalty success for the sixth consecutive time after referee Darren England pointed directly to the spot and VAR Stuart Atwell agreed.
Arteta’s team was taken aback; captain Jorginho was sent off after objecting to the decision. Raya had the opportunity to fall behind, but he held his ground against Doucoure’s ferocious low shot.
They could have continued on, but Pickford’s response to Rice’s pile-driver was equally powerful.
With 19 minutes remaining, Martin Odegaard replaced Jorginho, much like the winger was preserved for Tuesday night and Real Madrid, while Arteta, in all black, had substituted Gabriel Martinelli for Sterling at halftime.
However, the story was really about desperation. Even if the spoils are shared, the last whistle will have been depressing for him.
