And things seemed to be going according to plan; with Martin Odegaard turning in Kieran Tierney's lovely cross right on the stroke of half-time to leave the home side deflated. In fact; they had a brilliant header from Richarlison ruled out for offside just prior to that; to add to the misery. And Ben Godfrey's supposed stamp on Takehiro Tomiyasu I think was purely accidental; as seen his reaction immediately after making contact.
It all looked to be going downhill from there; but somehow Everton produced a fightback for the ages in the second half; reminiscent of such great Everton nights as Bayern '85 and Man United '12. They played with an urgency and new-found commitment; and slowly but surely the crowd started to believe.
It must be said that Arsenal did themselves no favors. With or without Granit Xhaka; their game management was horrendous. Employing game-delaying tactics far too early; it only served to de-stabilize their own game; and gave Everton confidence that they could succeed. The move to take out the in-form Tierney for Nuno Tavares; and later a de-spiriting Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for Alexandre Lazacatte also did not help matters.
It seemed Everton's luck had truly run out when Richarlison was denied yet another goal early in the half; but they continued to believe; and the Brazilian finally got the equalizer when he rose to head home the rebound after an audacious Demarai Gray effort.
It was sad for Arsenal that they only started to play after the match was level; and substitute Eddie Nketiah missed one of the chances of the season; somehow heading against the post from point-blank range when it looked easier to score. With time fast running out; it was left to Gray to pick up the pieces; running at the defence and unleashing a seismic shot that went in off the post.
In the end; he collapsed onto the pitch in a sheer mix of elation and joy. And the tears were rolling down my cheek as Everton recorded this season-shifting victory. It was that kind of a night.
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