What happened three days after Arsenal draw shows Everton progress as Mikel Arteta theory wrong

Our Everton jury have returned to have their say on the draw with Arsenal and this weekend's game against Nottingham Forest

Everton return to Premier League action this weekend when they take on Nottingham Forest at the City Ground. The Blues played out a 1-1 draw with Arsenal last time out.

The Gunners, who are still chasing Liverpool in the battle to be crowned Premier League champions, took the lead when Leandro Trossard finished past Jordan Pickford nine minutes before the interval. However, the Blues drew level when Iliman Ndiaye scored from the penalty spot after Myles Lewis-Skelly brought down Jack Harrison.

And with Saturday’s game and the upcoming clash with Forest in mind, our Everton jury have returned to have their say.

Paul McParlan - Memories are made of this

The ninth minute of the game against Arsenal at Goodison Park last Saturday served as a poignant reminder of how football can bring fans together to pay respect to someone who has touched their lives.

Supporters of both clubs put aside their traditional tribal rivalries and joined forces to pay tribute to the one and only Kevin Campbell, a footballer of immense grace and outstanding talent who left a deep impression on those who had the privilege of watching him.

It was so uplifting to hear all sides of the stadium join together to sing “ Super, super Kev, super Kevin Campbell”. It was a fitting way to honour someone who was taken from us far too early and who has rightfully earned his place in the pantheon of Everton number nines.

The game itself was a tightly contested affair with neither side giving an inch. Sometimes performances are a better indication of where a side is rather than the actual results. Everton have faced the top two teams in the league and have, in the words of David Moyes, "given them both a game”.

A momentary lapse of judgement from the normally reliable Idrissa Gueye allowed Arsenal to break away and score the opening goal. Everton struggled to find their rhythm and created little in the first half. A few tactical adjustments by the manager at half time led to a much-improved performance, with a penalty from Iliman Ndiaye earning the Blues a well-deserved point, which means that they have now only lost one of their last eleven league games. Unlike Mikel Arteta, I knew it was a penalty as soon as I saw it.

Their defensive resilience will be tested again on Saturday when they travel to Nottingham Forest, the team currently lying third. It means Everton will have played the top three sides in the Premier League in successive fixtures, and with games against Manchester City and Chelsea to follow, it doesn’t get any easier.

It was only a fleeting appearance, but the sight of Dwight McNeil coming on as a substitute on 87 minutes was highly encouraging. It looks like Everton will be able to take an almost full-strength side to the City Ground. McNeil’s goalscoring, assists and set-piece delivery have certainly been missed.

Iliman Ndiaye had ice-cold blood running through his veins as he waited for the VAR automatons to confirm the award of a penalty. Then he had to deal with the delaying tactics and gamesmanship of the Arsenal keeper David Raya trying to unsettle him . But he held his nerve and coolly dispatched the spot kick into the corner of the net.

Given the scarcity of penalties awarded to us at Goodison Park, this could well be the last one ever scored by an Everton player at the Old Lady.

And, undoubtedly, it was one to remember. It was also a spot-kick finish that Super Kev himself would have been proud of!

Alex McMonnies - It was far from a magnificent display

Everton's 1-1 draw with Arsenal on Saturday was a result that became exceedingly more impressive just a few days later.

After the Gunners shocked the world with a fully deserved 3-0 battering over Champions League holders Real Madrid, many Evertonians reflected on the weekend's opponents, who were unrecognisable compared to the beast that went on to destroy the Spanish giants. Declan Rice's outstanding free-kick brace also gave us all an excuse to re-watch Leighton Baines' two free-kicks, of admittedly lesser quality, in the same game against West Ham back in September 2013.

Carlo Ancelotti may well have been looking enviously at his former employers and wondering just how the Toffees had been able to keep Arsenal's attack at bay only days earlier. Admittedly, both Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard weren't thrown in from the start, with Mikel Arteta clearly having one eye on the European tie on Tuesday, but even when the England star did come up against makeshift left-backs in Nathan Patterson and later Ashley Young, he was unable to have any sort of impact on the game.

It was far from a magnificent display from David Moyes' side, but one would suspect the Scotsman was more than happy with keeping it low-key. Much was made of Arsenal's play-acting but in all honesty, their desperation to keep the match from getting into any sort of flow probably hindered them more than it hindered Everton.

It was a slightly fortunate penalty that allowed the Toffees to get back on level terms early in the second half, but we've certainly been due a controversial refereeing decision going our way for some time. It was also nice to see Iliman Ndiaye back on the scoresheet on his first start in almost two months.

Attention now turns to an away trip to Nottingham Forest. At the start of the season, almost every Everton fan would have viewed this fixture as by far the easiest the Blues would have to tackle in the month of April. But Nuno Espirito Santo's team have stunned everybody this campaign and have their eyes firmly fixed on a place in next season's Champions League.

However, Everton are unbeaten at the City Ground in their last four visits and will fancy putting a dent in the aspirations of the East Midlands outfit.

James Kellett - One aspect that stood out for me

Everton’s firm 1–1 draw with Arsenal was most certainly a point in the right direction and further casts off the low threat of relegation. The Gunners were a well-drilled outfit and arguably deserved the win, but to see us compete with Mikel Arteta’s side was a true marker of a team working for each other and enjoying their final games of the season.

One aspect that stood out for me was David Moyes’ rotation of the squad, which at first admittedly had me slightly worried, but I was proven wrong. After the midweek derby defeat, Tim Iroegbunam and Nathan Patterson were introduced to the starting XI, which in turn was their first start under Moyes.

As the weeks progress, it would be fair to assume Everton’s Premier League safety could be confirmed with at least four games remaining in their league campaign - something they have not done since 2021.

Should this happen, it will be intriguing to see how the squad shapes up and whether Moyes will rotate. The rotation seen on Saturday afternoon could simply be Moyes resting legs as the Toffees face their toughest month on paper, but once Premier League status is confirmed, it is possible we could see a much clearer blueprint of how Everton will set up in the 2025/26 season.