It was, for Konstantinos Mavropanos, the best way to net his first West Ham United goal.
The Greek defender bulleted a fine header into the far corner, via the underside of the crossbar, for the Hammers’ second away at his former club Arsenal.
Tomáš Souček had given the Irons a first-half advantage with a well-taken finish, with the victors holding on a famous win at the Emirates Stadium.
“We are really happy to get the three points and to go into the New Year with this result,” the centre-back told West Ham TV. “It was a fantastic way to end the year. An amazing result away from here, especially here against Arsenal.
“What a day it was to get my first goal! What a place to do this as well, to score my first goal for West Ham in the Premier League. It was amazing.
“Deep inside I really wanted [to celebrate] because I helped the team and in front of our fans as well. But I spent two or three years here and of course I respect Arsenal.”
A win for the hosts on Thursday evening would have put Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table, but a resolute and passionate West Ham performance meant the three points instead went to east London.
A meticulous gameplan, built around counter-attacking football, paved the way for victory; with Souček’s opening goal building the foundations for the win.
“We knew that Arsenal is one of the best teams and there would be parts of the game where we would have to defend really hard,” Mavropanos continued.
“This is what we did with our plan, and we created a lot of situations for the counter-attack. We had them there and this is how we scored the goal.
“Getting that first goal gave us more energy and motivation to keep going. The first goal was really important for us and for the team.”
Victory against Arsenal concludes a December in which the Hammers also beat Manchester United, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur, and end 2023 with 32 wins in all competitions.
Having relished his first few months in Claret and Blue, the Greek international is now determined to continue the good form in the New Year.
“It’s our second clean sheet in a row and it was really valuable for everyone. We defended really hard.
“What a way to go into 2024. We are looking forward for the next game and the New Year to see what it will bring us.”
