Alan Hansen's column

By Alan Hansen BBC Sport football expert

Hull City's win at Arsenal put the Premier League newcomers in dreamland. And while it is no guarantee of survival, it will give the whole club an injection of the game's most important, and yet elusive, quality - namely confidence.

Phil Brown's Hull had a stunning victory at The Emirates

I heard Hull boss Phil Brown talking about games as being winnable and unwinnable, and it is probably not being too harsh to suggest travelling to an Arsenal side flying at the top of the table would probably have fallen into the latter bracket.

But win they did, and to do it coming from a goal behind made the achievement even more memorable.

Arsenal are the sort of side that can kill you with their passing game when they get a goal up, but Hull showed great resolve, grit and determination to come from a goal down and win.

Brown is a very positive character, and he will be delighted that his side have responded so well to being thrashed 5-0 at home against Wigan earlier this season.

It was the sort of result that can prove more than just a reality check for newly-promoted teams, it can make a real dent in confidence and belief.

And yet they have reacted by winning at Newcastle, drawing at home with Everton and then beating Arsenal at The Emirates. This response will have satisfied Brown and given him genuine optimism about the character of his Hull side.

When promoted teams arrive in the Premier League, the mantra is always about getting results at home, especially against so-called lesser sides.

But Hull have got seven points out of nine away from home in a reversal of that trend. Some newcomers to the top flight would have been happy with that points total away from home over the course of a whole season.

And what about that strike by Geovanni for Hull's equaliser? It was sensational and will already be a candidate for goal of the season.

When teams come up, they talk about fighting spirit, backs-to-the-wall battling and scrapping for every point - but that will only serve you for so long. You need that something extra to come up with those crucial extra points and Geovanni's goal exemplified that.

This result does not mean that Hull will now automatically go from strength to strength and survive. Brown will be keeping his team firmly grounded.

He will be stressing that three points against Arsenal is the same as three points against Stoke, but what they will take from The Emirates is the crucial knowledge that they can get results like the one they had on Saturday.

Everton boss David Moyes is still to sign a new contract

One club who have not had the best of starts is Everton, and the mood at Goodison Park will not have improved with Liverpool winning the derby in relative comfort on Saturday.

Everton boss David Moyes has suggested the current impasse over his new contract may be a contributing factor, but I think there is more to it than that.

If there was no sign of an agreement and it looked like Moyes would leave, then maybe you could totally attribute their indifferent start to that but it does look like he will eventually sign a new deal.

What has happened is that David has taken Everton to the level of fifth in the Premier League, and now he and the club's supporters want to see them pushing on.

They do not want the respectability of seventh or eighth place, they want to play the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea with a realistic chance of beating them.

After finishing fifth last season, Everton needed fresh faces and new blood to liven the side up and maintain that level, but to challenge those top four you need more money than Everton have at their disposal. You need hundreds of millions now not just £15m or £20m.

Just take a look at those teams now regarded as the most likely to gatecrash that top four, Aston Villa and Manchester City.

Those two clubs are bankrolled by extremely wealthy men and Everton chairman Bill Kenwright has said himself that they need a billionaire, and that, sadly, he is not that man.

I am sure Moyes will sign his contract in the end. When you look at how well he has done compared to clubs like Spurs and Newcastle who have spent much more, you see what a good job he has done.

But the fact of life is that for Everton to push on, and to get on to the next level, then Kenwright is correct, they need the sort of investment that has arrived at places like Villa Park and Eastlands.

Alan Hansen was talking to BBC Sport's Phil McNulty