Jordan Pickford pumped his clenched hand against his heart and fist-pumped the away end once, then twice, then a third time. Abdoulaye Doucoure clenched him in a warm embrace and then James Tarkowski held his attention with what appeared to be a stern lecture on how good the England number one is.
Idrissa Gueye followed Tarkowski before Pickford then climbed over the pitchside hoardings and Everton’s pantomime villain made two Christmas dreams by handing over first his shirt and then his gloves to supporters in an away end that ended their afternoon at Arsenal in full voice.
Pickford, a hero of the draws with Newcastle United, West Ham United and Brentford was once again the most impressive figure in an Everton side that has no choice but to fight when up against title chasers such as the Gunners. But they deserved this point after 96 minutes in which, at times, the hosts laid siege to their goal. The most satisfying point was that, unlike some of those aforementioned draws, which felt like sorry missed chances against sides more vulnerable than Everton made them appear, this time Pickford could share the adulation with the players around him.
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“It is like the Alamo”, Everton commentator Darren Griffiths blew down his microphone in the closing stages. The Blues held firm though, Vitalii Mykolenkop burnishing his defensive credentials with another good display against Bukayo Saka. His most pivotal intervention was against Thomas Partey with minutes to go, however. As the substitute burst into the Everton box the Ukraine international stretched out a leg and stole the ball under huge pressure.
At half-time, as the Arsenal players ran out early to resume their warm-ups, Everton players surrounded referee Craig Pawson. Eight players, led by club captain Seamus Coleman, halted him in conversation after a first half in which the Everton dugout were repeatedly incensed by the calls against them. That continued into the second half and when the screens around the pitch showed Mykolenko’s tackle was being reviewed by VAR for a possible penalty, Blues around the Emirates and around the world could have been forgiven for fearing the worst. But Mykolenko’s timing was immaculate and a player who has struggled all season once again saved one of his best displays for Saka.
His battle with the England winger was a secondary act in this play though. For all the plaudits Pickford received from his own players at the end, the most poignant were from the opposition. Saka made a beeline for him, the international teammates sharing a moment to reflect on their private duel. Twice in the second half Pickford denied Arsenal’s November man of the match, first with a low save at his near post from a close range volley he saw at the last second, then with a near post save on a rare occasion Saka was able to skip past Mykolenko.
The only other time that happened was in the opening half, when a clever Gabriel Martinelli flick sent Saka beyond the left back. He pulled it back to Martin Odegaard who, eight yards out and central, took a touch before hammering towards goal. Tarkowski flung a knee at the shot that diverted it into Pickford’s body and after Doucoure and Ashley Young leapt onto Pickford, the on-the-pitch captain shared a smile with the keeper who had taken the full brunt of the credit for a double last ditch effort.
That was not the end of it for Pickford, who bailed out Jarrad Branthwaite twice - first to save at the near-post from Martinelli after the centre back picked out Declan Rice with a poor pass and then later, when he narrowly beat Kai Havertz to another loose ball from the 22-year-old. At the end, after Saka it was home keeper David Raya who was next to greet Pickford, further recognition of the imperious display of a player lambasted as 'just a s**t Aaron Ramsdale' by home fans who were soon quietened by his heroics.
Everton showed little ambition in this match and struggled to do anything to prevent an onslaught of Arsenal attacks, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Armando Broja both fighting lonely battles against one of the best centre back pairings in world football.
Yet in many ways that suited Everton. And Dyche. His side is at its brutal, belligerent best when it is playing spoiler to someone else’s party and Everton did that to great effect in the capital. They could have had more - Orel Mangala sent Doucoure into the box in the first 10 minutes but rather than head direct at goal his touch took him out wide. He dithered and allowed Gabriel time to get across and block his shot. That attack, which could have been marginally offside, came in the seventh minute and was the peak of Everton’s offensive efforts.
After the match Pickford told the cameras the plan was to “stick to the game plan and suffer”. Everton did, but they reaped their rewards at the end. So did Dyche. There was a sense of hope in the daunting December fixture list that the challenge might play into his strengths, his talent is setting up against teams that want to dominate and the calibre of opposition would allow him more space from supporters who would be more sympathetic to that approach than when they watched dreary missed opportunities against the likes of Brentford and Southampton.
That hope became a reality in north London. Unlike at the end of the last away match, the dismal collapse at Manchester United, the away end was full on the final whistle. Dyche and his players deserved the applause they received as they built on the win over Wolverhampton Wanderers with a steely performance on the toughest stage. More tests await both ahead of a week in which off-the-pitch events are now likely to take centre stage at Everton.