An injury-time goal from Tomas Rosicky salvaged a point for Arsenal against Everton in a thrilling 2-2 draw.
Four-goal thriller in terrible conditions in Premier League clash
An injury-time goal from Tomas Rosicky salvaged a point for Arsenal against Everton in a thrilling 2-2 draw at the Emirates.
On a bitter afternoon in North London, it was the Toffees who drew first blood when Leon Osman rose well from a Landon Donovan corner to head past Manuel Almunia in the Arsenal goal.
Everton looked good value for their lead but were undone in the 28th minute when Osman unwittingly deflected a Denilson shot past Tim Howard at the other end.
Conditions worsened in the second half but the entertainment did not, and the Toffees looked to have snatched the points when Tim Cahill fed in Steven Pienaar, who chipped the ball beautifully over Almunia with just nine minutes of normal time remaining.
However, Arsenal fought back and secured a draw as Abou Diaby broke forward to lay the ball off for Tomas Rosicky, and his shot deflected off Lucas Neill and into the net.
Gunners boss Arsene Wenger had called on his team to maintain the momentum which has dragged them right back into the title race with five wins from six, but it was Everton who made the better start.
Louis Saha had got ahead of the defence on the right, but blasted over.
It was no surprise when the visitors took the lead on 12 minutes as Osman headed in a corner from Donovan, the United States international making his debut after a loan move from Los Angeles Galaxy.
Test
Wenger's youngsters faced another test of character and looked for an immediate response. However, Everton dropped men back to crowd midfield.
Arsenal were, though, level on 28 minutes. Denilson charged down a clearance and the ball fell to Andrey Arshavin on the edge of the penalty area.
The Russian fed Eduardo, who touched a pass back to the Brazilian, and his low strike took a wicked deflection off Osman to wrong-foot Howard.
Despite getting themselves back into the match, Arsenal looked anything but comfortable when defending around their own penalty area.
Almunia then failed to collect a deep cross, which Tim Cahill almost headed in, while Everton captain Phil Neville then chipped his angled effort onto the roof of the net.
The conditions worsened as the second half started.
Donovan weaved his way into the Arsenal penalty area, and was unfortunate to see a curling shot drift wide.
As the hour mark approached, the weather - which caused the postponement of the midweek match here against Bolton - showed no signs of improvement.
Arshavin cut into the right side of the Everton box and drew Howard, but the Everton keeper did well to recover and claw the ball away.
Saha latched onto a stray pass and charged goalwards, before his 20-yard shot was deflected behind.
Bacary Sagna's deep cross from the right was just too far ahead of both Rosicky - on for Aaron Ramsey - and Arshavin, arriving at the far post.
Armand Traore flashed a left-wing cross through the six-yard box, before Denilson struck a 20-yard effort over.
Changes
Both teams made further changes with 15 minutes left as Eduardo was replaced by Carlos Vela and Everton sent James Vaughan on for Saha.
Abou Diaby hacked clear after Cahill broke into the left side of the Arsenal box before Arshavin did the same at the other end, with his shot blocked at the near post.
Everton, though, snatched what looked to be a late winner when Pienaar raced onto a pass from Cahill to chip Almunia with eight minutes left.
Vaughan could have made the game safe when clean through, but this time Almunia saved.
Denilson, just returning from a back problem, had to be taken off on a stretcher after collapsing in the build up to the Everton attack. Fran Merida came on.
Arsenal threw plenty forward during the closing stages, and were rewarded in stoppage time when Rosicky smashed home a close-range shot which deflected off Lucas Neill.
| Arsenal |
Team Statistics |
Everton |
| 2 |
Goals |
2 |
| 1 |
1st Half Goals |
1 |
| 2 |
Shots on Target |
3 |
| 2 |
Shots off Target |
3 |
| 5 |
Blocked Shots |
3 |
| 6 |
Corners |
8 |
| 12 |
Fouls |
13 |
| 2 |
Offsides |
6 |
| 1 |
Yellow Cards |
1 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 85.1 |
Passing Success |
70.1 |
| 20 |
Tackles |
32 |
| 80 |
Tackles Success |
65.6 |
| 66.4 |
Possession |
33.6 |
| 55.3 |
Territorial Advantage |
44.7 |
|
