St James' Park was shedding all of the colour and noise of the previous 90 minutes when Mikel Arteta wandered towards the tunnel to continue the Arsenal celebrations. He wore a beaming smile and his arm was draped around the shoulders of Jorginho.
It was no coincidence and no surprise that, as the Gunners celebrated three points that kept their title hopes alive, Arteta sought out the midfielder.
Martin Odegaard will rightly take the plaudits for his goal and the way he dragged his side into a game that looked set to overwhelm them for a second straight season.