Premier League Everton 2-1 Arsenal
After being thumped 4-1 by Liverpool and director of football Marcel Brands leaving the club, Rafael Benitez's team responded with a much-improved display that showed the character and resilience fans were looking for.
Richarlison had brought Everton level with 11 minutes of average time remaining after Martin Odegaard scored the game's opener from Kieran Tierney's cross in first-half stoppage time.
That the winner came after Richarlison had also had two goals ruled out for offside by the video assistant referee before getting the equaliser will only have added to the home fans' delight.
The scenes at the final whistle were a complete turnaround from last Wednesday when the mood turned ugly after a 4-1 defeat by their city rivals.
The victory lifts Everton to 12th in the table, eight points above the relegation zone.
Few fans can have expected such a performance after recent showings - had Everton failed to win, this would have been their worst run of form since 1994.
Instead, it was reminiscent of the club's early-season form when they chalked up successive comeback wins at home and climbed to fourth.
And it was the perfect response to dozens of fans who left their seats after 27 minutes in protest about how the club is being run, with the timing a reference to the club's 27-year wait for a trophy.
The result also vindicated Benitez's insistence that the club would return to winning ways once injured players returned, even if Lucas Digne was left out as Yerry Mina returned to the side.
In keeping with their success earlier in the season, Grey was Everton's most dangerous player, but he was aided by Richarlison, who showed great perseverance to score at the third time of asking.
In a poor first half, moments before his header, Odegaard scored for Arsenal; it was offside. Still, the frustration for the Brazilian and the 35,000 Everton fans inside a raucous Goodison Park was palpable when a second goal was ruled out because his toe was inches beyond the Arsenal defensive line.
When his headed goal eventually came after Gray hit the bar, it changed the mood among a set of fans who have been angered by a familiar run of form under majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri, despite the British-Iranian spending close to £500m over the past six years.
But there was a further delight to come when Gray found the top corner for his fifth goal of the season.
Having arrived for only £1.7m in the summer, he is proving to be a cut-price talisman.
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