Everton did neighbours Liverpool a massive favour by holding title-chasing Arsenal to a 1-1 Premier League draw at Goodison Park on Saturday when Iliman Ndiaye’s penalty cancelled out a Leandro Trossard 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.
Everton vs Arsenal latest news
- Kick-off time: 12.30pm BST, Goodison Park
- How to watch: TNT Sports
- Everton XI: Ndiaye starts
- Arsenal XI: Saka and Odegaard benched
- Score prediction
Full-time!
14:28 , Alex Young95min: That should be that for Arsenal's Premier League title hopes.
Arteta risked a disjointed performance with heavy rotation, and that's what he got. All eyes on the Champions League now.
Moyes will take this all day long.
91min: Four minutes added on.
87min: McNeil is on, replacing Harrison.
84min: Everton the team now sensing an opportunity.
Though neither team really pushing fully yet.
79min: Still not a huge amount of effort from Arsenal to win this game. Surely title hopes over if they don’t take three points.
Though they probably knew it was already over.
76min: Did I just spot a hobble from Rice? One to keep an eye on.
70min: Odegaard is on for Jorginho.
Simon Collings at Goodison Park
13:59 , Alex YoungLewis-Skelly, clearly, not letting that penalty decision impact him. A remarkable run there that deserved more from it.
64min: Rice takes the honours this time, and forces a fine save from Pickford.
63min: Lewis-Skelly does superbly to win a free kick on the edge of the area. Tarkowski twisted in knots and trips him.
62min: Timber replaces White, that would have been a planned substitution.
61min: Timber is coming on.
59min: After a delay, Saka lines it up and thumps a shot into the wall.
57min: Arsenal win a free kick around 25 yards out after a foul on Jorginho but Ndiaye.
52min: Everton have their tails up! Doucoure drives into the area and forces a super stop from Raya.
Goodison has woken up!
Simon Collings at Goodison Park
13:44 , Alex YoungA nightmare start to the half for Arsenal and Goodison has suddenly found its voice.
GOAL!
13:43 , Alex Young49min: Ndiaye makes no mistake!
48min: VAR taking a look. It looks nailed on... and it’s confirmed.
EVERTON PENALTY!
13:40 , Alex Young47min: Nightmare start to the second half for Arsenal!
Second half!
13:39 , Alex Young46min: Saka and Martinelli are on, Sterling and Nwaneri are off.
Saka is coming on!
It hasn’t been pretty, but Arteta will have few concerns. Everton need to shift up a gear in the second half.
And Arsenal’s bench will surely be used soon. Saka time when?
Not the most entertaining half you've ever seen, but Trossard has given the Gunners the lead.
Everton not doing a whole lot, either.
Half-time!
13:22 , Alex Young51min: There’s the whistle.
50min: Ndiaye with a pop from distance which fizzes over the bar.
49min: Almost a second for Arsenal as Tarkowski slips and almost lets Trossard in, the shot is block and so is Rice’s follow-up.
48min: Everton seem to be just waiting for half-time. No urgency at all.
45min: Six minutes added on.
43min: Now Trossard is down, but he’s just making a meal of it.
42min: Merino will continue and four minutes will be added on at the end of the half.
41min: He’s up and has a cut on his head. Will he continue?
40min: Oh, this doesn’t look good. Concern for Arsenal as Merino is down and receiving treatment.
Arteta looks concerned on the touchline.
39min: Corner is wasted.
38min: A decent reaction from Everton as Beto twists and turns into the area but can’t quite get an effort on target, though does win a corner.
Simon Collings at Goodison Park
13:07 , Alex YoungOne of those goals where if you're an Everton fan, you are perhaps questioning Pickford and if you're an Arsenal supporter you're saying it's a good finish from Trossard.
GOAL!
13:06 , Alex Young34min: Breakthrough!
First shot on target, first goal as Trossard finishes off a sweeping counterattack!
Sterling drove at the Evertond defence, found his team-mate on the edge of the area and he slotted into the far corner.
26min: The weather is glorious, if I tad nippy. The match is not.
22min: Trossard takes a good first touch which takes him into the area but there’s O’Brien again with a big sliding tackle.
Simon Collings at Goodison Park
12:54 , Alex YoungAfter a bright start from Arsenal, this has all gone a bit scrappy. Arsenal need to try and wrestle control back.
18min: It’s all a bit scrappy at the moment. Arsenal with more possession but they are rushing things.
15min: So close!
Harrison’s delivery from out wide is flicked on by Branthwaite and O’Brien cannot tuck home at the back post!
12min: Everton fairly happy for Arsenal to have the ball at the moment.
Simon Collings at Goodison Park
12:41 , Alex YoungAll four sides of the ground - including the Arsenal fans - rising to applaud the late, great Kevin Campbell in the 9th minute.
8min: Up the other end, Rice is needed to throw his body at a Beto shot after the Everton striker ducks into the area.
Entertaining start.
6min: A good delivery from Rice, right under the crossbar, and Pickford punches away.
5min: Sterling seeing plenty of the ball early on, and this time wins a corner off of O'Brien
2min: A super early chance for Sterling!
The ball is cut back from the byline and the loanee has plenty of time to line up his shot, but hits Iroegbunam square in the belly.
Kick-off!
12:30 , Alex Young1min: Up and running at Goodison!
Here come the teams.
Bukayo Saka will surely be coming off the bench today.
Not long now. Arsenal’s new sporting director, Andrea Berta, is here.
Mikel Arteta on Everton and Goodison Park
12:16 , Alex Young"So much history is attached to his stadium and this football club, and I was part of that for seven years.
"David Moyes is a very special person in my life, he was the one who convinced me to come to his club and to the Premier League."
Simon Collings at Goodison Park
11:58 , Alex YoungA few Arsenal fans have called for Arteta to rotate more recently given their spate of injuries. Well, they've got their wish today.
Five changes, in fairness, feels the right call given Real Madrid are looming large.
It’s also a rare start for Raheem Sterling today.
His loan spell has not gone as planned, but it was almost a no-brainer from the Gunners point of view given the favourable financial terms.
Can he make a statement today?
Simon Collings checks in
11:47 , Alex YoungOur man on Merseyside.
Quite the team news to digest.
— Standard Sport (@standardsport) April 5, 2025
Here's @sr_collings, somewhere deep in the bowels of Goodison Park, with more.#EVEARS pic.twitter.com/UEogLZ5Kd5
I wrote earlier that Arteta will have one eye on Real Madrid. Make that one and half eyes, judging by that team news.
Has Arteta admitted defeat in the title race? Saka, Odegaard, Timber and Partey on the bench. White starts.
Confirmed teams in full
11:25 , Alex YoungEverton XI: Pickford; O'Brien, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Patterson; Gueye, Iroegbunam; Harrison, Doucoure, Ndiaye; Beto
Subs: Virgínia, Keane, Young, Coleman, Alcaraz, Garner, McNeil, Chermiti, Broja
Arsenal XI: Raya, White, Saliba, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly; Jorginho, Merino, Rice; Nwaneri, Trossard, Sterling
Subs: Neto, Tierney, Timber, Zinchenko, Partey, Odegaard, Gower, Saka, Martinelli
Everton XI
11:17 , Alex YoungHere’s how the hosts look!
Today's Toffees! 🔵#EVEARS pic.twitter.com/2orNV4NhMR
— Everton (@Everton) April 5, 2025
Arsenal XI
11:16 , Alex YoungSaka on the bench!
🔴 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠𝙉𝙀𝙒𝙎 ⚪️
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) April 5, 2025
🔙 White returns
©️ Jorginho skippers the side
⚡️ Trossard leads the line
Let's do this, Gunners 👊
A bit of early Everton team news as both Patterson and Ndiaye start.
A peek inside the Arsenal dressing room.
Team news is just 15 minutes away.
Does Saka start, who partners Saliba at central defence, will White be involved before Real Madrid?
Arteta makes 'tough' Arsenal admission after Gabriel injury
10:53 , Alex YoungMikel Arteta admitted Gabriel’s season-ending injury was “a tough one to digest”.
The Brazilian was forced off early in Tuesday night’s win over Fulham with a hamstring injury and the club have since confirmed that it will require surgery.
That has brought a premature end to Gabriel’s campaign and dealt the Gunners a major blow ahead of their Champions League quarter-final tie against Real Madrid.
It meant it was a mixed night for Arsenal as they beat Fulham, with Bukayo Saka scoring on his long-awaited return from a hamstring injury of his own, only for the Gunners to once again lose a key player for an extended period.
“Well it was a tough one to digest because [we] just got Bukayo back and lose Gabi,” Arteta said, speaking at his press conference ahead of Arsenal’s trip to face Everton on Saturday.
“The team reacted like they have all season, very proud. We know he’ll be out a while so we need to find different solutions and keep competing like we have all season.”
Gabriel’s absence could present Jakub Kiwior with an opportunity alongside William Saliba, although Ben White is expected to be in contention to face Real Madrid and could fill in at centre-back instead.
Riccardo Calafiori would have been the obvious option as a left-footed replacement for Gabriel, but the Italian is still out with a knee injury he picked up during the recent international break.
Arteta must address biggest blind spot with one eye on Real Madrid
10:46 , Alex YoungIn different circumstances, Mikel Arteta’s final trip to Goodison Park might have given some welcome narrative to a late-campaign game in a Premier League season fizzling out. After all, Everton, since re-appointing David Moyes, have pulled well clear of danger, while consecutive wins for Arsenal either side of the international break have eased fears they might yet be sucked back into the scrap for the top four.
Instead, though, the spectre of Real Madrid looms large, the Gunners now just three days away from a Champions League quarter-final that has become their biggest game of the season and hoping desperately to get there without further depreciation of his squad.
The loss of Gabriel to yet another serious hamstring injury in midweek was the headline blow in a cluster of defensive issues that has left Arteta fretting about the kind of back-four he might be able to field when the Spanish giants come to town on Tuesday night.
The prognosis on Jurrien Timber and Ben White’s respective knee injuries sounded encouraging when Arteta spoke on Friday afternoon, though Riccardo Calafiori is firmly ruled out.
Whether Arsenal can afford to chance either or both of those players at Everton, though, is another question, and one of many moving parts.
Latest match odds
10:40 , Alex YoungThe bookies are backing Arsenal to get the job done today, but it may not be entirely straightforward.
- Everton: 16/5
- Draw: 11/5
- Arsenal: 19/20
(*Odds provided by Betway, subject to change.)
Fans are beginning to arrive at Goodison. Lovely day for it on Merseyside.
Everton vs Arsenal prediction
10:30 , Alex YoungEverton are certainly made of sterner stuff under David Moyes, going on a nine-game unbeaten run until their defeat at Anfield last time out.
Expect the Toffees to stand up tall against an injury-hit Arsenal team, who will surely rotate somewhat with bigger priorities to come a few days later.
Everton 1-1 Arsenal
Predicted Arsenal lineup
10:20 , Alex YoungConfirmed team news to come at 11.15am.
Predicted Arsenal XI (4-3-3): Raya; Timber, Saliba, Kiwior, Lewis-Skelly; Odegaard, Jorginho, Rice; Nwaneri, Merino, Trossard
Early Arsenal team news
10:13 , Alex YoungBukayo Saka is today pushing to make his first Arsenal start in more than three months.
Saka made his comeback from a serious hamstring injury in the midweek victory over Fulham, scoring the second goal in a 2-1 win.
Arteta now faces a choice of whether to hand his star man an opportunity from the start on Merseyside, or whether to again use him off the bench.
“He needs exposure, you know, and he's going to have exposure,” Arteta said. “He played 30 minutes [against Fulham].
“He felt really well. He scored a goal and he wants more. He's clear. In the last two days, he's demanding more and he wants more.”
Elsewhere, Arteta is managing an injury crisis in defence, with Gabriel ruled out for the season after suffering a hamstring problem against Fulham.
On Friday, the Arsenal boss confirmed that both Ben White and Jurrien Timber have “a chance” of being fit to face the Toffees, but whether he risks either and for how long remains to be seen, with the Madrid game looming large.
Early Everton team news
10:02 , Alex YoungEverton will be without Orel Mangala (knee), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (thigh), Jesper Lindstrom (groin) and Dwight McNeil (knee), though the latter is back in training. Iliman Ndiaye is pushing to start after coming off the bench against Liverpool.
James Tarkowski arguably should be suspended for the game after the referees' body PGMOL admitted he should have been sent off for his tackle on Alexis Mac Allister in midweek, for which he was shown a yellow card. He will likely start today.
How to watch Everton vs Arsenal
09:54 , Alex YoungTV channel: In the UK, Everton vs Arsenal is being shown live via TNT Sports. Coverage begins at 11am BST ahead of a 12.30pm kick-off at Goodison Park.
Live stream: Discovery+ subscribers can also follow the match live online via the Discovery+ app and website.
Welcome
09:49 , Alex YoungGood morning and welcome to the Standard’s LIVE coverage of the Premier League clash between Everton and Arsenal.
The Gunners are again counting the walking wounded as they look to keep their faint title hopes alive - the gap remains 12 points to Liverpool and they are now without influential defender Gabriel.
Mikel Arteta will also have one eye on Tuesday’s season-defining Champions League quarter-final clash with Real Madrid.
But first: the Toffees at Goodison Park. Kick-off is at 12.30pm.
