How Arsenal pulled this out of the bag will remain a Christmas miracle.
Had the Gunners fallen 11 points behind leaders Chelsea on Monday afternoon then the dream of winning their first title since 2004 was as good as over.
For 86 minutes here at the Emirates their championship ambitions looked dead and buried as West Bromwich Albion keeper Ben Foster produced a miraculous display to frustrate Arsenal.
But then they provided evidence that they finally may be ready to stay the course in the race for the title as Olivier Giroud grabbed a euphoric late winner.