THE buzz among Evertonians walking up to Goodison for Saturday’s season opener was of the millions David Moyes is ready to splash out in the transfer market.

But as they later strolled gleefully home having witnessed a winning start for their team, the supporters’ talk was instead of the current Everton player whose summer signing will have more influence on future success than any new arrival.

Make no mistake, the five-year contract agreed with Mikel Arteta could well prove the smartest piece of business of any Premier League side during this transfer window.

The Spaniard has long since been taken into the bosom of the Gwladys Street faithful following his arrival, initially on loan, from Real Sociedad in 2005, his consistently impressive performances drawing comparisons with the midfield schemers of Everton past.

His displays have also caught the attention back home in Spain, with both Real Zaragoza and Atletico Madrid prepared to tempt Arteta into a La Liga return over the summer.

Such approaches were rebuffed, and their loss will be Everton’s gain. No longer distracted by debate concerning his future, and with the incentive of a possible berth in the European Championships next summer with Spain, everything is now in place for Arteta to take his game on to the next level.

Arteta’s outstanding showing in the weekend win over Wigan Athletic, a continuation of his fine pre-season, suggests the Spaniard acknowledges that time has arrived.

Just ask Kevin Kilbane, handed the onerous task of marking his former team-mate as a temporary left-back following last week’s departure to Goodison of Leighton Baines.

“Can Mikel become one of the best players in the Premier League? I think so,” says Kilbane, who endured a tortuous afternoon at the hands of Arteta. “He has the means to do that.

“He flits and flirts and goes all over the place, and he is very hard to pick up.

“He has all the attributes and is not restricted to one position. He can play anywhere across the midfield and his creativity and ability with a dead ball situation are second to none.

“It has been a bit disappointing from his point of view not to have made the Spanish team because he is certainly good enough. It is a European Championship year, so he will be trying his best to get in the Spanish side.

“When he first came to Everton, he was used to being in the middle. But actually being out there on the wings has improved him. He has a bit more time there and he will create chances for whoever is playing up front for Everton.

“On the way up here, I thought we’d have a chance but Mikel is the kind of player who can unlock doors.”

For once, it wasn’t Arteta who unlocked the doors that allowed Leon Osman and Victor Anichebe to score the goals that ensured victory in Moyes’s 200th league game in charge on Saturday.

But the Spaniard was the beating heart of just about every other Everton attacking foray on an afternoon when the home team clinched a three points Arteta’s contribution alone merited.

One moment on the half-hour particularly showcased his talents, Arteta’s dancing feet allowing him to skip down the right beyond Kilbane, Caleb Folan and Denny Landzaat before being halted by Titus Bramble. The crowd screamed penalty, but referee Mark Clattenberg’s assessment it was a fair tackle by the Wigan centre-back was later backed by Moyes.

The danger, of course, is Everton becoming too reliant on the Spaniard, a point Moyes readily concedes and will look to address by bringing in another creative midfielder – Manuel Fernandes remains the priority – within the next fortnight.

None of the manager’s new signings were in the starting line-up against Wigan as Moyes kept faith in the players who secured a top-six finish last season, meaning Joleon Lescott began the season still in the left-back berth given the absence of Baines.

After 26 utterly forgettable minutes, Osman struck the first goal of Everton’s season in unlikely fashion.

Tony Hibbert’s cross from the right wasn’t dealt with by the perennially hopeless Bramble and Osman, the smallest player on the pitch, looped a header from 15 yards out that somehow dropped in over Chris Kirkland, despite the goalkeeper standing only a few steps away from his goalline.

For Osman, the goal was the ideal marker given the competition for places Moyes is attempting to encourage across midfield this season.

Arteta struck a free-kick wide before Andrew Johnson was denied first by a decent stop from Kirkland and then a fine block from the impressive Wigan centre-back Andreas Granqvist.

With former Everton target Jason Koumas catching the eye on the left of Wigan’s midfield, the home team didn’t have it all their own way and the always dangerous Emile Heskey was within inches of equalising from a powerful drive that flashed inches wide.

An alert Granqvist spared the hapless Kirkland’s blushes on the hour by clearing Osman’s effort off the line after the keeper twice failed to deal with an aerial threat under pressure from Anichebe following Arteta’s deep free-kick.

Injuries to Tim Cahill and James Vaughan, the departure of James Beattie and the failure so far to sign a new striker have handed Anichebe the opportunity to strengthen his claims for a more regular starting role.

The Nigerian striker will look to begin smoothing out the rough edges to his game without losing any of the power and physical presence that caused Wigan problems on Saturday.

And Anichebe’s cause certainly won’t be harmed by him netting the game’s decisive goal on 75 minutes, although the forward made hard work of tapping in the lively Johnson’s low cross from the left, the ball eventually crossing the line via Bramble’s head and the crossbar.

Steven Pienaar was finally available to make his debut in a 16-minute cameo as a late substitute, and was instantly involved in the build-up to Anichebe’s goal. Until then, Wigan had enjoyed the better of the second half without seriously troubling Howard.

The Latics did pull a goal back 10 minutes from time with the best move of the match, Landzaat, Heskey and Scharner combining to present substitute Antoine Sibierski a tap-in.

But a Scharner snapshot turned away spectacularly by Howard was the nearest the visitors came to earning a point they wouldn’t have deserved.

Given the testing trips this week to Tottenham Hotspur and Reading, a second successive opening-day victory was an imperative for Moyes and his players.

What wasn’t necessary, however, was for Arteta to remind everyone of his importance to any Everton success this season.