For one of the more stylish midfielders to grace Goodison Park in recent decades, a farewell came in the form of a warm-up for a very different test. There was a time when it seemed as though Mikel Arteta may return to Everton as manager. Instead, as Arsenal targeted the unproven Arteta, they were seduced by the glamour of Carlo Ancelotti, meaning a swift volte-face when they withdrew the offer of the job to a certain David Moyes. Now it is Ancelotti and Real Madrid for Arteta.
His Goodison goodbye contained preparation, frustration and a bit more of Myles Lewis-Skelly’s education. A draw renders it still likelier the Premier League title will return to Merseyside, with Liverpool now only requiring another 11 points to make it mathematically certain. But if Arteta’s team selection, with Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli only substitutes, indicated he has the Champions League in mind, he has plenty to consider.
Real are unlikely to be petrified when they study the footage of a stop-start affair, often lacking in intensity, at times without some of Arteta’s premier personnel. But they would surely note the introduction of Bukayo Saka at half-time: after 24 minutes against Fulham, he played 45. Will he start against Madrid?
“He is in a much better place,” said Arteta. “We have built that up.” Will Jakub Kiwior start against the European champions? He got the chance to deputise for the injured Gabriel Magalhaes and, perhaps flatteringly, he was given the man-of-the-match award. Was the choice of Kiwior Arteta revealing his hand or concealing it? Ben White made his first league start since November, lasted an hour at right-back and could play in the middle. “We have alternatives there,” said Arteta.
The safe assumption is that Lewis-Skelly is primed to begin the biggest game of his club career. It continues to be ridiculously eventful. The teenager’s
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