Arsenal spurned several chances and failed to take full advantage of Premier League leaders Liverpool’s slip-up against Fulham when they were held to a 0-0 draw at Emirates Stadium to Everton on Saturday.
Arsenal kept their gap to Liverpool at six points but after their rivals were held to a 2-2 draw, title hopefuls Arsenal will be disappointed not to have made up some ground.
Arsenal remain third in the table on 30 points from 16 games, one point behind second-placed Chelsea, who host Brentford on Sunday. Everton are 15th with 15 points.
In a lively start at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes, making his return from a hamstring injury, thwarted Abdoulaye Doucoure with an excellent block while Martin Odegaard twice shot wide from promising positions.
Odegaard was heavily involved in Arsenal’s attack throughout the first half and the Norwegian midfielder was played in by Bukayo Saka in the 29th minute but his deflected shot was well kept out by Jordan Pickford.
Arsenal dominated possession but lacked their typical intensity, though they were able to test Pickford once again before the break, forcing the England stopper into another fine save to deny Gabriel Martinelli from a tight angle.
The hosts were more aggressive after halftime and almost nabbed a goal right away, but Pickford got down quickly to stop Saka’s shot before racing off his line to clear a poor backpass and spare teammate Jarrad Branthwaite’s blushes.
EPL fixtures: Man City host Man United as Liverpool face Fulham
Frustrated by his team’s inability to break down a resolute Everton, Mikel Arteta made a big call just past the hour mark, taking off regulars Odegaard and Declan Rice in a double substitution and bringing on Jorginho and 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri.
The changes did not pay dividends.
Meanwhile, Diogo Jota bagged a last-gasp equaliser to salvage a breathless 2-2 Premier League draw for the 10-man Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday, with Arne Slot’s men twice roaring back from a goal down.
Liverpool remained top of the table on 36 points and with a game in hand after the postponement of last weekend’s match at Everton.
Andreas Pereira got Fulham on the scoresheet in the 11th minute with an acrobatic volley from Antonee Robinson’s cross which took a bounce off Andy Robertson’s thigh and went past goalkeeper Alisson.
Robertson was shown a red card six minutes later for a lunging tackle on Harry Wilson that denied an obvious goal-scoring opportunity.
Cody Gakpo levelled in the 47th minute when he dived from close range to head in Mohamed Salah’s sumptuous cross. But Rodrigo Muniz put Fulham ahead again in the 76th when he bundled in Robinson’s cross while crashing into Alisson.
Liverpool continued to press and Jota brilliantly slotted past Bernd Leno in the 86th as Liverpool narrowly avoided what would have been only the second loss for Slot in 23 games across all competitions as Liverpool boss.
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