What a pulsating game of football we consumed on Tuesday night as Everton and Arsenal served up an early festive season cracker.

With Everton struggling for form drastically going into this one and Arsenal on a superb run of results, many felt there was only one winner ahead of kick-off - but that wasn't how things played out.

Certainly, Arsenal looked the brighter at the start and took the lead through Alexis Sanchez's deflected free-kick, but it was all Everton from thereon.

The Toffees got the crowd onside and when that happens the Blues usually take some stopping.

So it proved, too, as Seamus Coleman's fine header from a Leighton Baines cross just before the interval set us up for a barn-storming second half.

End-to-end football at its finest, Everton took the initiative in the second 45, risking Arsenal counter-attacks in a bid to get a long overdue win.

And, eventually, it came as Ashley Williams thumped home a header from a corner with just minutes to go.

Fortune favours the brave is the old saying and Everton certainly got what they deserved for going for it as they ran out 2-1 winners.

Plenty to talk about from this one, then; here are five things we learned...

 Everton need to start quicker

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Everton, at Goodison Park, should feel that they can beat any team and certainly get the fans going early.

But they've been slow to get underway at home in recent weeks and that happened once again. Arsenal hadn't really threatened until this free-kick and yet the Toffees found themselves conceding the first goal for the third successive home match.

They eventually turned it around but they need to get at teams from the start instead of waiting to react.

 The Toffees aren't that bad

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Everton have been heavily criticised in recent weeks and whilst they've certainly not been brilliant, there's still a lot to be positive about.

Even Ronald Koeman and Romelu Lukaku have come out and had a go at the team over the last few days butall they need to do is look at this performance and take the good from it. The Toffees showed fight, commitment and desire against a much-fancied Arsenal side and should use this as a springboard into the difficult Christmas period.

 Gunners showed some fight

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There is some more steel in this Arsenal side than before and they showed in the first half that they were ready to mix it up physically.

This picture was at half-time and you felt that more of the same in the second half could have seen the Gunners take the three points with their extra quality. As it panned out, though, Everton were all too ready to match them and eventually overwhelm them in the commitment stakes.

 But buckled when it mattered once again

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger

The Gunners nearly held on for what would have been a good point.

They hadn't played well in front of an increasingly vociferous Goodison Park with Everton players flying in, but could have taken a potentially crucial point away from it if they'd just held out.

Instead, the pressure got to them and Ashley Williams buried a header in the final few minutes to leave many still questioning their stomach for the fight when things really heat up.

 You can't write off Koeman

Everton manager Ronald Koeman and Southampton manager Claude Puel

The Dutchman might not have been feeling the pressure but he certainly needed these three points.

He endured similar barren runs at Southampton but found a way to change things up and he'll be hoping a case of deja vu now occurs at Everton. The Toffees have been in a rut and Koeman has had to alter the formula but it seems to have worked. The real test will be against Liverpool next Monday.