Arsenal 0-0 Everton: Gunners left frustrated by stubborn Toffees – as Mikel Arteta’s men miss chance to capitalise on Liverpool dropping points

The loud groans from the Arsenal faithful were growing and Mikel Arteta could sense it. He threw his arms up in the air after 70 minutes, in a desperate attempt to whip them up.

Both he, and they, knew that anything but a win would be problematic, to say the least. That’s why full-time was greeted by the kind of boos not heard at the Emirates in some time.

It’s early on in the season but, after dropping points against Fulham, and the lead Liverpool have already gained at the Premier League table’s summit, the Gunners could ill afford more slip ups. Particularly against a team who are looking over their shoulders at the bottom three. It makes this result all the poorer.

To Everton’s credit, their will never subsided. The tidal wave of red and white shirts kept coming, that desperation for a goal growing as the second half ebbed on.

The north London club weren’t terrible, Jordan Pickford’s aerial punches and reflex saves doing much to thwart the opposition attack. Though Arsenal’s creativity was lacking and when their attackers had chances, they failed to take them.

Martin Odegaard’s shot from close range on 30 minutes was deflected by Pickford’s body, and Bukayo Saka had an attempt blocked away by a stunning save at the start of the second half.

A coming together between Thomas Partey and Vitalii Mykolenko in injury time was checked by VAR, but waved away.

A frustrated Arteta said: ‘I feel very disappointed not to win the game because obviously there’s a team that deserves to win, there’s only one — which is Arsenal.

‘We gave nothing away, no shots conceded, dominated direct play… we generated the chances but the last 20 metres it was missing to score goals, which is what you have to do.

‘I can’t ask much more from the boys, apart from putting the ball in the net.’

The Gunners had an early scare on six minutes. Abdoulaye Doucoure was played through in on goal but took an age to shoot. That allowed Gabriel to slide in and deflect his shot away.

It was a rare bit of action for the Toffees near the opposition area. The home side were, as often seen, enjoying the lion share of possession. In their draw to Fulham, they largely neglected the left wing.

Early on here, they were utilising that side, Gabriel Martinelli getting a few forays to the byline.

When Saka did make it through on 30 minutes using trickery, Odegaard was passed the ball inside the area, his shot saved at point-blank range by Pickford.

Odegaard had a number of attempts at goal in the first half, including one dragged wide of the goal after dropping his shoulder.

The first half ended with a Myles Lewis-Skelly foul throw; an encapsulation of the Gunners having not scored by the break. Mikel Merino, who was having a limited impact, got stuck in upon the restart, his duel with James Tarkowski saw the ball loop to Saka. His shot, low to Pickford’s left side, was well saved indeed.

Kai Havertz thought he was gifted a one-on-one with Pickford after an awful backpass by Jarrad Branthwaite, but Pickford got there — just about.

In a bid to change things up, Arteta surprisingly substituted off captain Odegaard and Declan Rice around the hour mark.

Sean Dyche said: ‘They’re a fine side. We know that. The players put a big shift in, the commitment to doing the basics — pressing and recovering and staying true to it for 90 minutes. I was proud of the players.’

By the end, a point was what Everton and Pickford deserved.