The Gunners went in 2-1 ahead at the break after Darwin Nunez cancelled out Gabriel Martinelli’s early opener and Bukayo Saka scored late in the half.

Arteta has said he told his squad that the game was “there for the taking” before the second half began.

Saka then scored from the spot after Roberto Firmino’s equalizer to give Arsenal all three points and return them to the top of the league.

On his half-time team talk, Arteta said: “It was lively but we wanted to give confidence and tell them the game was there for the taking. [In the second half] the organisation was better, the timing of the press, we won every second ball.

“I was really happy. You are always in doubt with the changes and how many players they were putting on or last lie but the players dealt with it with a lot of maturity and composure.”

On Bukayo Saka’s winning penalty: “He practices every day but it’s different in training when we put him under pressure here today but credit to the boy, especially with what happened a year ago.”