The home side took a 2-0 lead into half-time, with Seamus Coleman and Steven Naismith on the scoresheet, but the Gunners hit back with two late goals to earn a point
Agencies
London, August 24
Late goals from Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud earned Arsenal a 2-2 draw with Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday afternoon.
First-half goals from Seamus Coleman and Steven Naismith had Roberto Martinez's side firmly in command as Arsenal laboured on the back of their midweek Champions League exertions in Turkey against Besiktas.
But Aaron Ramsey bounced back from his red card on Tuesday night to net his third goal in as many domestic appearances this term before half-time substitute Giroud headed home from Nacho Monreal's 90th-minute cross to snatch a point.
Despite scoring on the opening weekend against Leicester City, Aiden McGeady dropped to the Everton bench as Belgium forward Kevin Mirallas earned a starting role.
Arsenal welcomed back Germany World Cup winners Per Mertesacker and Mesut Ozil, while Alexis Sanchez was handed a central striking role for the first time by Arsene Wenger.
Steven Pienaar's early departure through injury appeared to unsettle Everton and a badly misjudged 15th-minute clearance by Coleman saw Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain shoot narrowly wide from the edge of the area.
But Coleman soon settled his and Everton's nerves when he stole in behind Ozil to head home Gareth Barry's sublime 19th-minute cross.
Three minutes later, Naismith flicked on another excellent lofted pass from Barry to send Mirallas bearing down on goal, but he could only stab wide under pressure from Calum Chambers and Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.
Mirallas then grazed the top of the netting with a 35th-minute free-kick before, just as it appeared Arsenal had weathered the storm, Everton doubled their advantage on the stroke of half-time.
Romelu Lukaku sent Mertesacker tumbling and raced towards the visitors' goal, eventually picking the perfect pass for Naismith to produce a measured finish - despite strong suspicions of offside.
Wenger replaced Alexis with Giroud at half-time and the France striker almost made an instant impact, smashing a volley over on the end of Oxlade-Chamberlain's raking pass within a minute of the restart.
Barry continued to orchestrate the play wonderfully for Everton in midfield and Jack Wilshere offered a demonstration of Arsenal's frustrations when he scythed through his one-time England team-mate and was shown a deserved yellow card.
Ramsey played in Giroud to rifle a shot narrowly wide from the edge of the area midway through the second half before the Welsh midfielder drew a sharp stop from Tim Howard as Arsenal sought to launch a final assault.
Santi Cazorla - on for the ineffective WIlshere - injected some clever footwork and an excellent low cross for Ramsey to reduce the arrears with six minutes remaining, clearing the way for Giroud to steal the headlines.
Arsene Wenger praised Arsenal’s character as they secured a 2-2 draw at Everton and avoided another Goodison Park nightmare on Saturday.
Back in April, Arsenal were soundly beaten 3-0 on Merseyside in a result that looked at the time to have severely damaged their Champions League hopes - although a late-season rally ultimately helped them to pip Everton to the fourth and final qualification place.
On the back of their European exertions at Besiktas in midweek, the north London side looked set for a repeat as Everton raced into a 2-0 half-time lead thanks to goals from Seamus Coleman and Steven Naismith.
But Wenger’s men belatedly worked their way back into the game, as Aaron Ramsey continued his rich vein of scoring form to reduce the arrears in the 83rd minute and then Olivier Giroud headed them level in the final minute. “When we got beaten 3-0 here it could have been many more,” Wenger told reporters.
“That was quite a flattering score on the day but today I believe we deserved the point we earned and for us to come back from 2-0 down against a team who is good on the counter-attack shows that the belief and resilience is there.”
“Having said that, the second goal was offside and there was a foul before, just before half-time, so it was difficult to swallow. But we took it on the chin and came back in the way we did.”
Giroud was introduced at the interval after Alexis Sanchez failed to fire on his first appearance in a central striking role for Arsenal and Wenger felt the France international’s more imposing physical presence changed the complexion of the match.
“I have more strikers than before so sometimes I can give them a little rest,” he said in explaining the decision to start Giroud on the bench - a player Wenger may be without for the second leg against Besiktas after he sustained an ankle problem in stoppage time.
“Giroud has just played one game since the World Cup so I gave him a little breather today but I knew we were dominating the game in the second half and we needed some physical presence up front, and he did that very well.”
“We looked much more dangerous because we were not in a counter-attacking situation. We were in a dominating situation where of course you play 10 against 10 in one half and his presence is very important.”
