Arsenal 1 Everton 1
Arsenal: Ozil 80'
Everton: Deulofeu 84'
Man of the match: Ross Barkley (Everton)
London // Given the context, with Chelsea and Manchester City both dropping points on Saturday, this might feel like an opportunity missed for Arsenal.
Moreover, they went ahead with 10 minutes remaining and hit the bar in injury time.
Still, a draw felt about right after an enthralling game in which Everton troubled the Premier League leaders for long periods and equalised with a stunning goal from the substitute Gerard Deulofeu, 19.
In the opening stages, two of the minor doubts about Arsenal that have been drifting semi-acknowledged in the background were displayed.
First, if Mathieu Flamini does not play – he was left on the bench – they lack a true ball-winner in midfield. Second, the narrowness leaves them vulnerable to raids from the opposing full-backs.
“It was a good game,” Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. “Everton played well and it took time for us to get into the flow of the game.”
Everton, for half an hour, were dominant. Ross Barkley, 20, was a splendidly enterprising hub as Bryan Oviedo and Stephan Pienaar made hay on the left.
“When you deal with players, you don’t deal with their age or with the experience they have,” Everton manager Roberto Martinez said. “Ross is an incredible person, so mature, with a real love for the game.
“I’ve never seen an England player with that sort of mentality. Ross is quite unique in that department.
“We needed to find a role for him to be able to express himself. He’s got incredible potential.
“He has incredible balance, really strong, really powerful with incredible awareness around him. Technically you could compare him against any other nation – Brazilian, Dutch or Spanish.”
Martinez, though, urged those who would have Barkley in the England side at the World Cup to show restraint.
“We need to give Ross 50 starts at least to see his evolution,” he said. “You have to develop knowhow to be effective. As a country, we need to be a little more protective of our young players.”
All that was lacking for Everton, as Martinez acknowledged, was the killer ball, and that their possession – around 70 per cent at times – yielded little in the way of chances was evidence of another Arsenal trait this season: their mental strength and ability, when necessary, to absorb pressure.
The more they resisted, the more they came into the game, eventually having the best two chances of the first half, with Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard racing off his line each time to block at the feet of onrushing forwards.
The second half was more even, more fluctuating and, while there was never a glut of chances, both sides had their opportunities.
Santi Cazorla could not quite get sufficient purchase on a close-range header from a Jack Wilshere cross, and Flamini, having come off the bench, sent a snap-shot flashing just wide.
At the other end, Pienaar drew a fine save from Wojciech Szczesny.
But with 10 minutes remaining, the deadlock was broken, as Everton’s defensive problems were exposed.
They have the second-best defensive record in the league – behind Arsenal – but that is largely because of their ability to hold possession than any reactive, defensive brilliance. When Theo Walcott rises to win a towering header at the back post, there is something pretty clearly awry.
Walcott guided Tomas Rosicky’s cross back across goal, and although Olivier Giroud missed it, Mesut Ozil rammed the ball in from six yards.
Had they won, Arsenal’s lead would have stretched to seven points, but they were pegged back by a brilliant strike from Deulofeu.
There seemed little danger when Bryan Oviedo’s cross came through to him at the back post, but he jinked to his right to create space and then rattled his shot across goal and into the top corner – a wonderful moment of improvisation and self-belief from a player Martinez described as being “arrogant in the right way”.
Even then, Arsenal almost stole it back when Giroud thumped the crossbar with a 25-yard drive, but they had to settle for a five-point lead before key games with City on the road and at home against Chelsea.
Does that mean Arsenal at last have to be taken seriously as title contenders?
“As long as we are five points clear,” Wenger said, “you cannot rule us out.”
sports@thenational.ae
Follow us on twitter at @SprtNationalUAE