Everton are drifting. This holding pattern will continue until the ownership is resolved New York Times (Online) Patrick Boyland As Storm Boelo laid siege to the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, TV cameras panned to a glum Everton dugout. Eight minutes of additional time had been signalled, but 2-0 down against champions Arsenal, David Moyes and his staff must have long suspected their race was run. A soaked and rapidly emptying away end, who had seen it all before in this part of the English capital, certainly did. Welcome to the predictable futility of Arsenal away for Everton. Across their 35 trips to Highbury and the Emirates, they have won just twice, averaging a paltry 0.34 points per game. It is their worst record against any Premier League regular, with manager Moyes also yet to taste victory against the north London side in 13 attempts — over a third of the matches in question. Not that the barren run was ever likely to come to an end on Saturday. There is an obvious gulf in quality and resources between Arsenal and Everton right now. It is evident in the transfer window, where the two clubs operate in vastly different parts of the market, and on the pitch, where Saturday's hosts kept their visitors at arm's length. Arteta called on talents such as Kai Havertz, Bruno Guimaraes, Martin Zubimendi and Riccardo Calafiori from the bench in the second half while leading 1-0. With Jarrad Branthwaite observing concussion protocols after a clash of heads with Chelsea's Emiliano Martinez last weekend and Jack Grealish missing due to what was described as “illness”, Everton, for their part, headed into Saturday's match with 16 available outfield players. By full time, that number was 15, after the sole left-back in the squad, Vitalii Mykolenko, hobbled off with an apparent calf injury. That, by itself, already feels close to unsustainable. Everton conceded a poor early goal from a set-piece — Arsenal's first from that avenue this season — that goalkeeper Jordan Pickford and Mykolenko failed to clear before Ezri Konsa pounced, and failed to show the quality to recover. It had been the same story a week before against a distinctly more vulnerable Chelsea, who kept their first clean sheet in 23 matches. There, the sense of missed opportunity was tangible. It felt like they played the Chelsea of old rather than the fallible current crop. Here, Moyes drew parallels with another 2-0 defeat at the Emirates last season in which Everton had shown more but ultimately still came up short. “I thought we had a better grasp of the game last year,” he said in Saturday's post-match press conference. “I want us to try and challenge the top teams. We had good games last year against Manchester City (a 3-3 home draw) and Arsenal (two narrow defeats), so it's not as if we're getting walked over. But I'd like to make the games a bit closer and us maybe being the team who could come out and top.” Everton fans had seen this script before. Every year, there is a desire to see their side challenge at these grounds until reality quickly hits home. Results like Saturday's feel predictable — as did Arsenal ending their run without scoring from a set-piece — and travelling fans head to places like the Emirates neither in hope nor expectation. 'Expected losses', to borrow a phrase from former owner Farhad Moshiri, have become the status quo, as have defeats where few punches are thrown. Defeat at Arsenal will not define their campaign. But the overwhelming sense is that little changes; that the gap to the top, if anything, is getting bigger and that Everton once again appear to be drifting as The Friedkin Group look to sell the club. While an abject end to the transfer window has put a cap on expectations this season, the broader concern is that Everton are in a holding pattern until the ownership situation is resolved; unable to spend the money or make the decisions needed to push them. The ownership uncertainty impacts everything, from their ability to compete in the transfer market to Moyes' future, as he heads into the final eight months of his deal. Uncertainty also leaves question marks over academy investment and potential infrastructure projects. It means bottom lines will almost certainly take precedence over ambition and vision, and fans will have to wait for answers when it comes to the future direction of the club. Many would argue they have already waited long enough. So much is up for grabs, and that is why the hope at Everton is for a resolution before the end of the season. They may even need it sooner than that, to give Moyes' squad a boost in the January transfer market. Yet the reality at present is that nobody knows when it will come. It has not been a bad start to the season for Everton. Until last weekend, they were unbeaten. But the two defeats to Arsenal and Chelsea have exposed limitations, and a positive opening to the campaign now looks middling in light of recent results. Games at the Emirates, in particular, tend to be a painful reminder of the vast distance left to travel. They can also shine a light on a lack of progress or, in this case, a club now craving an injection of energy and forward momentum once more. Only then are futile afternoons in north London likely to become a thing of the past.