Mikel Arteta makes 'very strange' Goodison Park claim and names Everton star who should have been sent off

Mikel Arteta eulogised Goodison Park after his final visit to the historic stadium ended in a stalemate.

Arteta's Arsenal were held to a 1-1 draw against Everton - further diminishing any slim hopes of winning the Premier League title. Leandro Trossard bagged for the Gunners in the first half but that was cancelled out by Iliman Ndiaye's early second-half penalty in a largely uneventful affair.

Arteta spent six-and-a-half years at Everton during his playing career, scoring 35 goals in 209 appearances. It was the Spaniard's final time he will experience Goodison, with Everton moving to their new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock next season.

He believes the Grand Old Lady embodies the Premier League and will be sad to see Everton leave their 133-year home. The Arsenal boss said: "I think the Premier League has got a reputation all over the world for places like Goodison Park. I think that makes the Premier League unique, so it's going to be very strange.

“I understand it's the evolution of football, of a football club, but this is very much part of the history of this league, and when you want to describe somebody from abroad how the Premier League looks like, you say go to Goodison Park and experience it. Unfortunately in a few months, we're not going to have that again.

Arsenal's hopes of catching Premier League leaders Liverpool were already slim. But their title chances have further diminished after their draw against Everton.

The first half was a drab affair, although Trossard took the only real chance on 34 minutes. Less than a minute into the second period, the Blues had a golden chance to level. Jack Harrison was hauled down by Miles Lewis-Skelly, with referee Darren England awarding a penalty. Ndiaye showed excellent composure to send Gunners goalkeeper the wrong way.”

However, Arteta was adamant that a spot-kick should not have been awarded after watching the replay '15 times'. He added: “I think we haven't conceded anything in the game, which was really positive. We were 1-0 up, had some big opportunities, ran into spaces, we didn't finalise the actions. Second half we want them to start good, start to dominate the game, they're going to be more aggressive, have more spaces. We did 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.

“I've seen it 15 times; there's no way, in my opinion, that's a penalty. Because if there is, then [Jake] O'Brien has to be out (for a second yellow card) and Everton has to play with 10 men, that's clear. After that again, we dominated the game. We didn't get too much momentum because he's constantly breaking the play and a big part of that was down to us, because after direct play we get very cheap free-kicks away. We had two big chances to win the game, we didn't convert them, so we have to accept the point.”