Iliman Ndiaye was the last player to make his way to the Gwladys Street only for his applause to Blues behind the goal to quickly be interrupted.
As Ndiaye clapped, TV staff hurried onto the pitch behind him and darted towards the Everton number 10. It was no surprise the camera crew wanted to grab the attention of the attacking midfielder. Goalscorer on the day, forty minutes earlier he had kept his cool to slot past David Raya from 12 yards and bring his side back into this game.
The celebrations that followed were bursting with relief. Relief from Ndiaye that he had finally overcome the medial ligament damage that cost him almost two months of this season. And relief from his teammates and the home supporters that their talisman was back.
Everton have missed the 25-year-old. Even during the darkest moments of a season that plumbed troubling depths before Christmas, the summer signing was a source of light.
When David Moyes arrived in mid-January he looked set to be fully unleashed. A glorious solo goal in the win over Tottenham Hotspur was followed by the composed penalty to earn another three points at Brighton and Hove Albion. But then came the injury.
Since then, Everton have lacked a spark. Yes, the form remained positive and some good results were achieved. They were built on passion and determination rather than ingenuity. Now Everton have their magic back.
The goal made this a perfect return for Ndiaye. While it did not lead to a win, it earned Everton a useful draw – one that looked unlikely after a tame first half saw Leandro Trossard open the scoring and come close to doubling Arsenal’s lead just before the break.
It also showed Moyes everything he needed to know about the tricky winger brought to Merseyside from Marseille. Ndiaye’s creative skill is of immense value to Everton and will be key to the rebuild set to take place this summer.
With so many questions over a squad with more than a dozen players currently due to leave at the end of the season, Ndiaye offers clarity in a key area. He was the top scorer when injury bit. He was still the club’s top scorer when he returned to the starting XI today, seven weeks later.
His value is not confined to his attacking talent, however. Against illustrious opposition he popped up everywhere on the sunbathed Goodison Park pitch. In the 15 minutes after his goal he stole the ball from Declan Rice deep in his own half to launch a counter that ended with Abdoulaye Doucoure forcing Raya into a good save.
He showed the strength to hold onto the ball and relieve pressure by drawing fouls from Rice and Ben White, danced past Bukayo Saka and Jurien Timber to send Idrissa Gueye into the opposition box, won a free-kick in a dangerous area from Timber and then, when Arsenal countered and Mikel Merino played Rice into space it was that man, Ndiaye, who scrambled across as last man to clear the ball into safety
It was no surprise when, late in the second half, he went down twice in 30 seconds with cramp, leading to his withdrawal.
The individual performance of the Senegal international was the highlight of a difficult afternoon for Everton. The Blues entered the break in need of a reset after a tame first half in which they failed to test a makeshift Arsenal defence.
There had been optimism in the build-up that, after suffering a first league defeat in 10 at Anfield in midweek, the Blues could take advantage of the Gunners’ reduced title hopes and focus on the Champions League.
Instead, Moyes was given his clearest example yet of the gulf in quality between his squad and those in the upper echelons of the league. It was not a lack of effort, and one of the three changes to the starting line-up made for this game, Tim Iroegbunam, offered a spark as he tried to carry the ball forward from deep.
But Everton were unable to sustain possession and looked toothless in the final third, even against a side missing several key players and with its attention drifting elsewhere.
Arsenal also lacked intent, but were still able to produce the key moments of the half. First, Raheem Sterling took advantage of a mix-up between Jarrad Branthwaite and Gueye to steal the ball and send Trossard into enough space to cut onto his right foot and stroke the ball beyond Jordan Pickford.
And then, late in stoppage time, Trossard was again played through but was denied by the legs of Pickford after riding a James Tarkowski challenge that could have spelt trouble had the Belgian international opted to go down.
Instead, Everton entered the dressing room just one goal behind. They emerged from it 15 minutes later a different side and spent the next 10 minutes hustling and harrying Arsenal. The reward came quickly, Harrison breaking into the box and Darren England pointing to the spot when he fell to the ground under pressure from Miles Lewis-Skelly.
Over the 40 minutes that followed, Mikel Arteta hoped his A-list would find a breakthrough. Saka and Gabriel Martinelli had entered at the break and Martin Odegaard was introduced to the fray. His side had the ascendency without looking potent though.
A late flurry saw Merino head just over and Trossard force a flying save from Pickford. But neither side looked desperate to claim all three points, the lack of intent from the away team appearing as a tacit acceptance from Arteta that the title race is over and that the priority is now the Real Madrid challenge scheduled for Tuesday.
For Everton, too, this game took on an experimental feel. Ndiaye returned to the first XI and Nathan Patterson and Iroegbunam each made their first starts under Moyes, who is now allowing his thoughts to extend to the squad overhaul set for the coming months.
Prominent in his hopes for the final weeks of this season will be the role Dwight McNeil could play. Moyes has been frustrated by the lack of set piece quality since he returned to Goodison and that disappointment continued again on Saturday. McNeil’s late cameo, his first appearance since December, suggests the midfielder could offer a solution to Everton’s dead ball woes as more tough games lie ahead.
