Steve Pienaar (right) scoring Everton's second in their 2-2 draw with Arsenal

Midfielder Steven Pienaar admits that his goal in Saturday's 2-2 draw against Arsenal at the Emirates was worthy of being a matchwinner.

The South African thought he had won the game when he chipped keeper Manuel Almunia deep in the second half.

"I didn't know what to do," he told BBC Radio Merseyside. "I got close, decided to give it a try and it went in.

"In the last two minutes I thought the ref can blow the whistle now as it was a goal that deserved to be a winner."

We stuck to our game plan and we didn't allow Arsenal to go through midfield Everton's Steven Pienaar

Pienaar's delightful strike nine minutes from time was cancelled out when Tomas Rosicky's injury-time equaliser denied the Blues a first win at Arsenal since January 1996.

But Pienaar says that, despite a fourth failure to record a first win at the Emirates, the effort his side put in to stifle Arsenal's fluent passing should have paid off with all three points.

"We stuck to our game plan," he said. "We didn't allow Arsenal to go through midfield for much of the game and it worked quite well.

"We knew that, with Arsenal missing a few players, and quality players, there was a possibility to take all three points.

"And we're just unfortunate it didn't happen.

"We've had a few draws against good teams, Chelsea and Sunderland away, that's never an easy game.

"So to come here, and I think we've never won here, we must be delighted with a point."

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