Everton2 - 2Liverpool

In the final Everton-Liverpool contest to be played at Goodison Park, Arne Slot's men dropped two points in the title race, as James Tarkowski lashed home an unbelievable 98th-minute leveller before some ugly scenes at full time.

All of Curtis Jones, Abdoulaye Doucoure and Slot were sent off by Michael Oliver after the whistle had gone, although the Premier League retracted a statement on their website claiming that the latter would serve a two-game ban for using abusive and/or insulting language towards an official.

Speaking to Sports Mole, Watts claimed that there would have been more of an uproar from pundits had Arsenal behaved in the same way, saying: "It would be interesting if it was the other way around. If it was Arsenal doing all that yesterday, I'm sure they wouldn't have heard the end of it for the next week or so.

"Every single opinion, column piece in the newspapers or podcast, Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher wouldn't have stopped talking about how Arsenal had lost their heads and were showing signs of pressure. Doubt we'll see any of that, the fact it was Liverpool and not Arsenal.

"But it was eye-opening. Slot, he's so cool and composed, it was the first time I've really properly seen him just lose his head. I kind of liked what Curtis Jones did, because that was Doucoure winding up Liverpool fans. If that was happening to Arsenal, I'd want one of my players to stand up for the fans."

Are Neville, Carragher guilty of Arsenal hypocrisy?

Neville was memorably critical of Gabriel Magalhaes celebrating in the face of Erling Haaland during Arsenal's 5-1 win over Manchester City, a few months on from Carragher labelling the Norwegian throwing the ball at the back of the Brazilian's head at the Etihad "funny", as quoted by manchestercity.news.

However, the former Liverpool defender then admitted that he 'did not like' Myles Lewis-Skelly mocking Haaland's celebration at the Emirates, after the City striker asked the Arsenal graduate 'who the f*** are you?" in September.

Carragher's former side are now seven points clear of Arsenal at the top of the table on the same number of games, but Watts believes that there will be a "few question marks" hovering over the Reds after they threw two points away in dramatic circumstances.

"It certainly opens them up to questions of is the pressure getting to them a little bit? They've just come off the back of the FA Cup defeat as well, now they've dropped points in the Merseyside derby," Watts added. "They've had Slot sent off, they had the assistant manager sent off, so God knows who's going to be in the dugout for the next couple of games for them.

"Few question marks certainly hovering over Liverpool after that result. They're still in an incredibly strong position. They're still overwhelming favourites to go on. I'll be very, very surprised if they don't go on with the title from here. But getting yourselves over the line, it's not easy. No one hands it to you on a plate. And it's up to them to do it now."

Arsenal can temporarily cut the gap down to four points when they face Leicester City in Saturday's early Premier League kickoff, their first competitive game since returning from a mid-season Dubai training camp.

The Foxes, meanwhile, were in FA Cup action last Friday as they were cruelly dumped out in a 2-1 fourth-round loss to Manchester United, whose winner from Harry Maguire would have been ruled out for offside with VAR in operation.

Watts urges Arsenal to rely on 'weapons' in Leicester clash

While Ruud van Nistelrooy's men held their own at Old Trafford, they have lost each of their last four Premier League home games without scoring, and Watts is still expecting an Arsenal triumph so long as the Gunners do not do "anything stupid" in defence.

"I don't think it'll be a routine day's work, but you still think Arsenal have got enough to go out there and get the win," Watts said. "I don't think it's going to be pretty for the next few weeks for Arsenal.

"Remember when Odegaard got injured in those first few weeks, they found a way to win. You think back to the North London derby, where it was rely on your strengths, defend really well, get yourself a set piece, score a goal.

"That has to be a weapon that Arsenal utilise really well, because you've just got to rely on what your strengths are right now. Defending and set pieces are definitely two of Arsenal's biggest strengths.

"I think they will have enough. Leicester will be a threat, there's no doubt about it. He may be old now, but Vardy's shown against Tottenham recently that he's still a threat. He's got a good record against Arsenal, so that's something they're going to have to watch out for.

"But as long as they defend well, don't do anything stupid at the back, I still think they've got enough to go up the other end of the pitch, find a way to score despite the injuries and get themselves the three points."

What was supposed to be a serene and stress-free break in the Middle East has in fact been anything but for Arsenal, who have confirmed that Kai Havertz will miss the rest of the season with the hamstring injury he sustained in Dubai.

Are Arsenal's title hopes over after Liverpool draw?

Arteta is also missing Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus, meaning that for the next few weeks at least, his attacking options will be limited to Leandro Trossard, Ethan Nwaneri, Raheem Sterling, Nathan Butler-Oyedeji and Ismeal Kabia.

Watts admitted that he would have waved the white flag in the title race had the Reds gone nine points clear, but even with Arsenal's decimated attack, he is not ruling out their chances of clawing back the seven-point deficit.

"I don't think it's slammed it shut, but it's going to be incredibly difficult," he added. "You can't dress it up any other way. Not only are you relying on Liverpool dropping points, you're also basically having to win every single game to ensure you can close that gap.

"That's going to be a struggle because you just don't have very many attackers to help you do that. And attackers will win you those games. But I think if Liverpool had won yesterday, if they had gone nine points, I'd have been like, that is it. That is just too big a gap to make up. But seven points is not beyond the realm of possibility.

"Arsenal have an opportunity to close that gap to four points. That sort of pressure can do some strange things to teams. Liverpool have got to go to Aston Villa, which is not going to be an easy game at all. It's just about staying in touch for Arsenal.

"They've just got to find a way before the international break just to stay in touch, keep that gap around what it is now before you really get into the run in those final ten, nine, eight games. I'm sure lots of Arsenal fans cheered as loudly as Everton fans when that goal went in. It does keep things alive. We'll have to see what the next few weeks bring."

Arsenal head to the King Power Stadium unbeaten in 14 successive Premier League matches, their longest-ever streak under Arteta, and not since a 16-game run in 2011 have they gone longer without defeat in the top flight.

Written by

Ben Knapton