Mikel Arteta returned to the Everton side in the 1-1 draw with Wigan Athletic after recovering from a hamstring injury suffered against Birmingham City in March that initially threatened to rule him out of the rest of the Premier League campaign. The Spaniard’s comeback could not help David Moyes’ team to victory as the Toffees’ late Europa League push fizzles out, but in reality the battle for the European places was lost long before the Toffees travelled to the DW Stadium.
Finishing fifth was always an near-impossibility for Everton after the terrible start made to the season – indeed, finishing sixth was little more than a pipe dream, and would only bring European football if a long sequence of events fell in Everton’s favour. While sixth or even fifth could still happen – Everton are seven points behind both Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur with nine points to play for – preserving seventh has become Moyes’ main goal. A top seven finish would improve upon last season’s eighth, a feat which seemed particularly out of reach in December after the first meeting with Roberto Martinez’s outfit, a dire 0-0 draw that left Everton in 15th, only two points clear of the Latics, who, as they do now, sat in 18th, the last relegation spot.
The second meeting between the sides was much livelier than the first and almost as disappointing for Everton, considering they missed a first-half penalty and had Tim Howard to thank for keeping them in the game. Arteta was the guilty party to miss from 12 yards, taking responsibility on his first appearance in two months. While it may be admirable for a senior player – the Everton vice captain, no less – to step forward for a pressurised spot kick, even with Arteta’s decent penalty record, Baines, having scored two penalties in four games before Saturday, seemed the logical choice. After Arteta was withdrawn the full-back duly converted a late penalty of his own, a rocket of a strike that, if not for the goal net, would likely still be travelling. Whether Baines’ vicious effort was frustration at being usurped by Arteta or a deeply focussed mind desperate not to miss in front of his former fans only he will know, but the differing outcomes should confirm the England international as Everton’s first-choice penalty taker even in the presence of Arteta.
Arteta resumed his season in the same left wing position he seemed to have ended it in against Birmingham. Diniyar Bilyaletdinov dropped out of the XI to make way after a particularly poor performance against Manchester United and Arteta’s selection in his stead suggests Moyes sees former Glasgow Rangers midfielder taking that role for the foreseeable future. It may be due to a lack of other options in that position or an attempt to bring out Arteta’s best form after a troubling season, or perhaps to recreate the profitable partnership on that flank Baines built with the departed Steven Pienaar. Either way, Arteta’s return is a long-term positive for Everton, even if his missed penalty was another short-term negative in a season already filled with them.
