Moyes obviously liked what he saw of the US captain in training, throwing him straight into such a big game, and he repaid that faith with a performance full of pace, strength and intelligence.

He looked confident and assured in everything he did, and barring a goal he couldn’t have really asked for a better debut, which is great news for Moyes with big games coming thick and fast at the moment.

Take this weekend’s encounter with Manchester City, for instance. Given the bad blood that developed over the summer, the anticipation ahead of this match is approaching derby levels.

Obviously Mark Hughes and Joleon Lescott won’t feature, for different reasons, but nonetheless there is a burning desire amongst Evertonians – and you suspect that’s reflected in the dugout as well – to see this shower of scratchcard lottery winners put firmly in their place.

With Carlos Tevez in such great form that might be easier said than done, but if the performance against Arsenal was anything to go by, Everton look like they are right in the mood to bring the curtain down on Roberto Manicini’s Eastlands honeymoon.