Another Premier League gameweek of Liverpool missing out on three points, and another gameweek of Arsenal failing to capitalise. After failing to make the most of the leaders’ Merseyside derby being postponed two weekends ago, Mikel Arteta‘s men had no answer to the defensive might of the Reds’ bitter rivals.
Thanks in no small part to an inspired display from Jordan Pickford in between the posts, a well-rested Everton left the Emirates with a point to their name after executing their game plan to perfection; frustrate the Gunners to no end while offering sweet little in the final third.
While the gap to Liverpool in the Premier League table is still only six points, it will be nine if the leaders eventually win their game in hand, and head coach Arteta is now coming in for renewed criticism after another alarming attacking display from his hitherto merciless men.
Gluts of goals have not been hard to come by versus lower-league opposition in the EFL Cup so far, though, as the Gunners crushed Bolton Wanderers 5-1 in round three before seeing off Preston North End 3-0 in October, where Ethan Nwaneri‘s stunner was the pick of the bunch.
The quarter-finals have been something of a bogey stage in EFL Cup tournaments gone by for Arsenal, though, as the hosts have been eliminated from seven of their last 10 appearances at this stage of the competition and have now gone 31 years without lifting the season’s first piece of silverware.
As modest as Arsenal’s recent history in the EFL Cup is, Crystal Palace would match their best-ever result in the competition should they conquer Arteta’s men at the Emirates on Wednesday; semi-final appearances in 1995, 2001 and 2012 remain their deepest runs in the League Cup.
Unlike the Gunners, though, the Eagles have had to navigate their way past a top-flight opponent to make it to the quarter-finals, stunning Unai Emery‘s Aston Villa 2-1 in the West Midlands in round four after previously eliminating Norwich City and Queens Park Rangers.
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Confidence may have diminished in the hosts’ ranks recently, but Crystal Palace have the biggest spring in their step ahead of Wednesday’s derby, having deservedly slain fierce rivals Brighton 3-1 in Sunday’s Premier League ‘derby’ thanks to an Ismaila Sarr masterclass.
The 15th-placed Eagles are nowhere near out of the woods yet, but the Amex success made it five straight games without defeat in the Premier League, and they boast an identical unbeaten run on the road in all tournaments since October’s loss to Nottingham Forest.
The quarter-final tie precedes a Premier League derby between Arsenal and Palace on Saturday, where the Gunners could beat the Eagles for the sixth time in a row if they book their semi-final ticket in midweek; each of the last four meetings between the clubs has been won by Arteta’s side.
