Arsenal fail to show they're the Real deal in poor draw

For one of the more stylish midfielders to grace Goodison Park in recent decades, a farewell to the venue came in the form of a warm-up for a very different test.

- RICHARD JOLLY

There was a time when it seemed as though Mikel Arteta may return to Everton as manager. Instead, as Arsenal targeted the unproven Arteta, they were seduced by the glamour of Carlo Ancelotti, meaning a swift volte-face when they withdrew the offer of the job to a certain David Moyes. Now it is Ancelotti and Real Madrid for Arteta.

His Goodison goodbye contained preparation, frustration and a bit more of Myles Lewis-Skelly’s education. A draw renders it still likelier the Premier League title will return to Merseyside, with Liverpool now only requiring another 11 points to make it mathematically certain. But if Arteta’s team selection, with Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli only substitutes, indicated he has the Champions League in mind, he has plenty to consider.

Real are unlikely to be petrified when they study the footage of a stop-start affair, often lacking in intensity, at times without some of Arteta’s premier personnel. But they would surely note the introduction of Bukayo Saka at half-time: after 24 minutes against Fulham, he played 45 at Everton. Will he start against Madrid?

“He is in a much better place,” said Arteta. “We have built that up.”