Arsenal 2-1 Tottenham: Why derby win must be title catalyst for Arteta and co

The Gunners needed to respond when they were in trouble after the Son setback, and the biggest response came from 18-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly, who gave a magnificent display, fully meriting the standing ovation he received when he was taken off three minutes from time.

Lewis-Skelly belied his youth to emerge as a key driving force and inspiration, completing 30 out of 32 passes, taking responsibility when Arsenal needed him most, with his manager describing his performance as “amazing”.

Arteta said: “He was phenomenal. He is a real personality. He has so much trust in himself. He has that attitude about him. He had to play against Brennan Johnson and Dejan Kulusevski while managing the occasion. It is not easy but he was top.”

And Rice added: “The young boy was unbelievable. To be playing the way he is at just 18 is just ridiculous. No fear. Four or five times in the second half, he used his body to get away from someone.”

If Arteta has been looking for signs that he has reserves of talent to ensure Arsenal can go deep into this season in search of trophies, then Lewis-Skelly, one of his emerging young stars, provided them.

Arteta told BBC Sport: “The attitude we played with, not feeling sorry for ourselves, was phenomenal. We played 120 minutes three days ago.

“We had some big chances and big situations. At the end, we had to suffer more than we wanted. When you have the opportunities, you have to take them. We are on a really consistent run in the Premier League.

“It is now about recovery, then Aston Villa on Saturday, going and going.”

And he added: “We know how important this game was and is. It’s a gift with which we can make out supporters happy.”

Now he needs to deliver an even bigger gift in the shape of a clinical finisher who can ensure this win is not a false dawn in Arsenal’s Premier League title challenge.