With five league games remaining before their trip to Merseyside, this contest was deemed as one of the trickiest matches Manchester City needed to negotiate.
They were unable to do so as they would have wanted, despite Jeremy Doku's late leveller.
A madcap second-half performance riddled with anxiety and errors leaves Arsenal as the big winners of the day, knowing three wins will guarantee them a first title in more than two decades.
City did take the lead through Doku's first stunning strike but could not cope with the intensity of Everton’s players and the sheer volume of noise from the home supporters.
England defender Marc Guehi has often been cool under pressure for the national team and at former club Crystal Palace, but was jittery in large parts here and the inexplicable error in trying to pass the ball back to Gianluigi Donnarumma gave the hosts the boost they needed.
City rescued a draw to extend their unbeaten run to 12 games in the league, collecting more points (25) than any other side during that period, but will head home filled with regret.
Though they showed battling spirit by fighting until the end and grabbing a goal with almost the last kick of the game, a point in these circumstances cannot be classed as being good enough.
