For Arsenal, this promises to be a momentous week. By tomorrow night they may be almost certain of progressing to the second group phase of the Champions League, and by Saturday evening they could have closed the gap at the top of the Premiership.
In order to achieve such a sanguine state of affairs, however, Arsene Wenger's side need to avoid defeat against Barcelona at Wembley and then beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, while hoping that, for once, the fixture minds its manners. At least Arsenal appear to have run into form at the right time.
Many an Everton team of the past has done rather more at Highbury than provide Arsenal with shooting practice. And to be fair to Walter Smith's players, they did manage to send a ripple of anxiety through Arsenal's ranks on Saturday before losing 4-1.
Yet, having taken an early lead through an exemplary free-kick from John Collins, Everton failed to maintain the pace they had set. After half-time their midfield all but disappeared, and in the end only the goalkeeping heroics of Paul Gerrard denied Arsenal an even more emphatic victory.
Dennis Bergkamp, goalless since early August, missed chances in situations where normally he would have scored, but with Davor Suker looking more and more like the natural predator he is, Bergkamp's drought is less of a problem.
Twice against Everton the Croatian striker's scoring instincts found him appearing in the right spot at the right moment to put the ball into the net.
Suker's present form will give Wenger a selection problem for the Barcelona game. Does Suker start alongside Bergkamp, or should Nwankwo Kanu be recalled.
"Suker is a penalty-box player," said Wenger. "If we create chances he'll put them in. He will play against Barcelona at some point, but just when I don't yet know."
Either way, Arsenal's principal strength at Wembley will again be the ability of Patrick Vieira to drive deep into opposition territory and disrupt their cover. Diligently though Abel Xavier and Scot Gemmill worked to prevent this in the first half, Vieira still found paths through Everton's midfield which after half-time became trunk routes.
Vieira will miss the Chelsea match after being sent off at West Ham a fortnight ago, and several more if the Football Association finds him guilty of misconduct over the spitting incident with Neil Ruddock.
"For the last two weeks he's been depicted as a super gangster," said Wenger, "but today he was a normal human being again. I was pleased he didn't lose his fighting edge and was controlled as well."
The imminent return from injury of Emmanuel Petit should partly offset Highbury's anxiety over any lengthy ban for his fellow Frenchman. Arsenal, as they discovered in last season's Champions League, cannot afford to lose the midfield cover for their excellent but ageing back four.
On Saturday, Nigel Winterburn epitomised the durability of Arsenal's defence with a well-nigh faultless display that reopened the debate about his England credentials.
Lee Dixon, recalled unexpectedly to an England squad this season, achieved a feat of similar rarity on Saturday when he scored for the first time in three years, cancelling out Collins's 16th minute free-kick by forcing the ball in five minutes before halftime after a free-kick from Bergkamp had bounced down off the crossbar.
Suker's second-half finishing and Kanu's coup de grace made Everton's win at Anfield seem a long time past.
ARSENAL: Seaman, Dixon, Winterburn, Vieira, Keown, Adams, Suker, Bergkamp (Kanu 69), Overmars (Silvinho 65), Parlour (Ljungberg 76), Grimandi. Subs not used: Henry, Lukic. Goals: Dixon 40, Suker 54, 61, Kanu 90.
EVERTON: Gerrard, Ball, Gough, Unsworth (Cleland 79), Collins, Barmby, Campbell, Hutchison, Gemmill (Cadamarteri 78), Weir, Xavier. Subs not used: Watson, Johnson, Simonsen. Goals: Collins 16.
Referee: S Dunn (Bristol).
