Positives & negatives from Arsenal's 1-1 draw at Everton

Negative #1: Arsenal still lack creativity

Trossard got his goal, but he's no central playmaker. That much was clear during a downright awful 70-odd minutes before Odegaard was finally summoned from the bench.

The skipper's involvement was long overdue, but Arteta had little choice to afford his prized asset a breather. There simply isn't another midfield technician who can match Odegaard's vision and ingenuity.

That's a damning indictment of the way this squad has been built. All brawn and function, but too little craft and inspiration.

Today's Arsenal is a far cry from the days when Arsene Wenger frankly overloaded the squad with creative types. The Wenger artful colony had its drawbacks, namely an unfailing habit of losing physical scraps and being outpaced by superior, more direct athletes.

Yet for all the faults in his approach, Wenger's fidelity to cultured and inventive passers meant Arsenal could always be counted on to create and pose a threat going forward. The same level of threat has been missing too often under Arteta, particularly this season.

Injuries have done the manager few favours, and it's easy to supposed more guile and variety would be present with one or both of Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz populating the forward line. The bigger problem, though, remains the paucity of ideas from the engine room.

Finishing has deserted the Gunners in key moments, like when substitute Kieran Tierney crossed for Mikel Merino late on against the Toffees, but the striker in name only fluffed his lines. Yet it's never just about the final touch.

Not enough of the work done to fashion scoring chances has been good enough. Perhaps that will change in Europe, with Arsenal's best attackers fresher.

Continued on the next slide...