“Everton doing Liverpool a favor - that’s a first!” - Jim Beglin delivers verdict on Premier League title race after Arsenal draw
Former footballer-turned-commentator Jim Beglin believes the 2024-25 Premier League title will end up in Merseyside after Everton held Arsenal to a 1-1 draw at Goodison Park on Saturday (April 5).
Ahead of the match, Arsenal were adrift of league leaders Liverpool with 12 points with eight matches left to play. With Mikel Arteta’s men settling for a draw against the Toffees, it meant Liverpool could extend their lead at the top of the Premier League standings to 14 points if they beat Fulham tomorrow.
Beglin, who once played in the Premier League, told the Gunners to forget about the title race after their surprising 1-1 draw. The commentator said while doing his commentary duties on Premier League Productions:
“I would think that’s it for the title. Everyone is convinced that it’s going to end up in this city, across Stanley Park. Everton doing Liverpool a favor – that’s a first!”
Arsenal are currently in the second position with 62 points after 31 games, while leaders Liverpool have 73 points while playing one game fewer.
“I think we deserved more’’ – Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta expresses disappointment after 1-1 draw with Everton
Mikel Arteta was unhappy with his side’s failure to get all three points at Goodison Park. The Gunners boss lamented his players' inability to convert their chances and insisted that they started the game poorly.
Arteta told the media after the match (via the club’s website):
“I think we deserved more, but that's what we got at the end at a really tough place to come. What they do, they do it really well, constantly putting the balls into the last line, dealing with direct play and second actions. I think we haven't conceded anything in the game, which was really positive. We were 1-0 up, had some big opportunities, going into spaces - we didn't finalise the action in the second half."
Arteta further asserted that the decision to award Everton a penalty in the second half was incorrect.
“We didn’t start well, didn’t dominate the game, we had to be more aggressive, have more spaces. We started the opposite, we gave the ball straight to the keeper, direct play, trouble. Again, direct play, and the referee decides to give a penalty. That changes the course of the game, which I'm here to give my opinion and after seeing it 15 times, there is no way that, in my opinion, that's a penalty, because if there is, then O'Brien has to be out, and Everton has to play with 10 men, that's clear.’’
Arsenal will be gearing up for their next encounter. They will host Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal on Tuesday (April 8).
