Mikel Arteta hailed Gabriel Martinelli's "outstanding performance" after the Brazilian scored and created another in Arsenal's 3-2 win over Liverpool on Sunday.
Martinelli set the Gunners on their way after just 58 seconds with a cool finish, before teeing up Bukayo Saka after Darwin Nunez had levelled for the Reds.
Roberto Firmino equalised again for Jurgen Klopp's side, but Saka scored from the spot 14 minutes from full-time to seal an eighth win in nine Premier League games for a resurgent Arsenal.
Martinelli has now been directly involved in 10 goals in his last 14 appearances in the Premier League (five goals, five assists), and Arteta was full of praise for the 21-year-old.
"He's a great player," the Spaniard said in a press conference. "I think today he had an outstanding performance against a top defender and a top team and he made a difference in the game as well as the other players.
"That's the next level, to step up in these games and make things happen to win it."
Asked if Arsenal will try to tie Martinelli down to a long-term contract, Arteta responded: "We don't get directed by an individual performance. Gabby doesn't have to show me whether he plays well or not well.
"What is clear is his hunger, his determination and his love for this game. You don't know where he's going to reach because he's always asking and willing for more."
Arsenal have won at least eight of their first nine league matches in a top-flight campaign for only the fourth time, after 2007-08, 2004-05 and 1947-48.
This latest triumph lifted them back to the Premier League summit after Manchester City had usurped them on Saturday, with Arteta's side now holding a one-point lead.
It sparked jubilant scenes at the Emirates Stadium, and Arteta said the support from the stands has been crucial to his side's success this season.
"Just thank you so much to the boys and our supporters for experiencing an afternoon like this," he added. "It's what our profession is about to live days like this and I really enjoyed it. Especially the way we won.
"I've never seen it like this [the atmosphere]. You cannot imagine how much it helps the players and how much it gives them.
"One of the nicest things we've done since we are together here is to unite everybody and make them feel like when you go are you going to experience something together."
Arsenal are next in action on Thursday when they face Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League, before they visit Leeds United in the Premier League on Sunday.
I owe everything to him – Trent Alexander-Arnold grateful to Jurgen Klopp
Trent Alexander-Arnold says he owes everything to Jurgen Klopp and believes the Liverpool manager’s impending departure could feed into the title-race drama.
Reigning champions Manchester City sit top of the Premier League pile with six matches remaining after second-placed Arsenal and the third-spotted Reds suffered shock defeats on Sunday.
Liverpool’s 1-0 home loss to Crystal Palace compounded Thursday’s 3-0 Europa League quarter-final defeat at the hands of Atalanta in what could prove Klopp’s final European night at Anfield.
Alexander-Arnold made his return from two months out with a knee injury in the Eagles encounter and expects more “twists and turns” as the popular German’s final season in charge comes to an end.
“I think experience is a massive part of it,” the Liverpool academy product told The Overlap podcast.
“Obviously the other two teams will have experience from last season. They had their own title race within themselves.”
Asked if Klopp leaving and the emotion around gives Liverpool an edge in the run-in, Alexander-Arnold said: “I think he will feed into that, the further it goes.
“Let’s say we get into May, the start of May, and it’s still that tight, then he’ll start to feed into how it’s going to look, how it could feel. Up until then, we just need to try and stay (composed).
“He never says, ‘We’re trying to win the league, we’re going to win the league’.
“He doesn’t really speak about it. It’s more, ‘We’re going to get the most out of ourselves, we’re going to squeeze every drop of potential’.
“There will be twists and turns, no matter what.”
Liverpool are hoping for an almighty change in fortunes at Atalanta on Thursday, when the second leg could see Alexander-Arnold make his first start since February 10.
Every one of his appearances for his boyhood club have come under Klopp, to whom the homegrown star is eternally grateful.
“Incredible, really,” Alexander-Arnold said. “I owe everything to him, really, as a player.
“I was thinking about this recently. The only thing you can ever ask for as a young player is opportunity.
“All you can do is hope that when you get to 18, 19, you’ve got a manager that’s willing to give you a chance and I was fortunate enough to have that.
View this post on Instagram“Not only that, he put his arm round me and guided me through it, through the ups and downs, the winning of stuff, losing things.
“Good games, bad games, because your first bad game you think you’re never going to kick a ball again. You think, ‘I’m done’.”
Alexander-Arnold is expecting it to feel “weird” returning to pre-season without Klopp, although he likes the idea of a “new challenge” under an as yet undetermined new boss.
The 25-year-old will likely return late to Liverpool given England are among the favourites for Euro 2024, at which Gareth Southgate has a midfield role in mind for him.
Asked whether he sees himself as a midfielder or a right-back, Alexander-Arnold said: “I’d probably say I still see myself as a right-back.
“I see myself as someone who can probably play in both positions if needed.
“But I think my focus, until I’m told otherwise by the gaffer, is that I’m still a right-back.
“I come inside and I play inside when we have the got ball, but essentially, when you write the team-sheet, I am a right-back.”
Golden Boot: Cole Palmer moves joint-top as England stars dominate standings
Cole Palmer has joined Erling Haaland at the top of the Premier League goal-scorer’s chart after adding four more to his tally in Chelsea’s 6-0 thrashing of Everton.
The Chelsea midfielder surged alongside Manchester City goal machine Haaland in the race for the Golden Boot, with both players currently on 20 in the top flight this season.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at the top six contenders for the award as the 2023-24 Premier League campaign enters the run-in.
Golden Boot battle
Cole Palmer (Chelsea) – 20 goals in 28 appearances
The 21-year-old’s remarkable first season at Chelsea just keeps getting better. Palmer, who did not score a league goal for Manchester City, has notched 10 in his last five league matches, rocketing into Golden Boot contention.
Erling Haaland (Man City) – 20 goals in 26 appearances
Haaland set the Premier League ablaze in 2022-23, claiming a new record of 36 goals in a season. The 23-year-old started like a train again this season before missing five games with a foot injury. Since returning in January he has scored six in 11 appearances, underwhelming by his standards, but the Norway hit man remains a heavy favourite to retain the Golden Boot.
Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa) – 19 goals in 32 appearances
Watkins is enjoying his most prolific season in the top flight, already surpassing his 15 goals from last season, while also providing the most assists (10) of those on this list. The 28-year-old’s current goal conversion rate is better than Haaland’s and he will be hoping to feature for England at the Euros.
Alexander Isak (Newcastle) – 17 goals in 24 appearances
Isak has more than justified Newcastle’s outlay of around £60million after a thigh injury limited his impact in his first campaign at St James’ Park. The 24-year-old is the first Newcastle player since Alan Shearer in 2003-04 to score 20 goals in a season for the club in all competitions.
Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) – 17 goals in 26 appearances
Salah has won the Golden Boot on three occasions during his stellar Liverpool career and has scored 20 top-flight goals or more in four of his six previous seasons at the club. The Egypt forward is on course to make that five in seven.
Dominic Solanke (Bournemouth) – 17 goals in 32 appearances
When Solanke struck the opener in last weekend’s 2-2 draw at Manchester United he broke the record for the most Premier League goals scored in a single season by a Bournemouth player. The 26-year-old has produced his best form under Andoni Iraola and could force his way into England’s plans for the Euros.
Southgate’s sharp-shooters
Gareth Southgate must be filled with excitement when he looks at the top 10 scorers in the Premier League this season, with six England players on the list.
Palmer only made his England debut in November but his astonishing form for Chelsea must surely earn him a spot in the squad for this summer’s Euro 2024.
Watkins could find himself in a straight shoot-out with Ivan Toney for the spot as back-up striker to Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane, while Solanke has just one England cap to his name back in 2017.
Further down the scoring charts, West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen has enjoyed a stellar campaign with 15 goals while Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden has netted 10 goals since Christmas to take his tally to 14 overall.
Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka, a certain starter for England in Germany injury permitting, also has 14 goals to further add to their firepower.
And when Kane’s 43 goals in all competitions for Bayern and Jude Bellingham’s 22 for Real Madrid are factored in, Southgate’s side are an exciting prospect.
Harry Kane: Bayern Munich season a failure without Champions League win
Harry Kane admits the season will be a failure if Bayern Munich do not win the Champions League.
Bayern host Arsenal on Wednesday in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final, with the first match last week ending in a 2-2 draw.
Bayer Leverkusen romped to the Bundesliga title at the weekend, ending Bayern’s run of 11 straight league trophies and leaving them with only Europe’s highest honour to play for.
While Kane has excelled individually, his wait to win a team trophy after more than a decade without one at Tottenham could well continue.
The England captain told a press conference: “Of course every player, every club wants to win trophies, that’s the ultimate goal every season, but there’s a process into winning, there’s a process individually and in the team.
“You want to improve as a player every year, you want to show the world your capabilities and you want to push yourself to the very limits and you hope that helps with the team.
“Of course, from the club’s point of view it will be a failed season if we don’t win anything this year because we’re expected to win but all we can do is take that into next year and try and turn that around.
“The main thing for us is we still have an opportunity to turn this season into a great season if we win the Champions League. That motivation is still there and as players you can only hang onto that. If we can do something special tomorrow night then of course that keeps that hope alive.
“It’s a time to raise our game, it’s a time for me and the players who have been in big situations, pressure situations, to step up and be counted. It’s going to be an amazing atmosphere. There’s a lot of expectation but I think there’s a good belief among the squad that we can achieve something tomorrow.”
Kane’s history with Spurs adds an extra edge to the occasion, with the striker also having been released by Arsenal as a child.
He played down the significance, saying: “I think it’s something that’s probably built up more from the outside, from the media, from the fans, rather than me myself.
“Of course I had a lot of history with Arsenal playing for Spurs for so many years in that north London derby, obviously it was the biggest game of the season every year probably, but it’s a different chapter, it’s a different moment for me playing for a different team and my focus is trying to beat a really good side.
“Of course I know there’ll be a lot of Spurs fans watching hoping that Bayern Munich go through but I can’t focus on that.
“Maybe it was in the back of my mind, being released from a young age, there was always a point to prove, and I feel like I’m the type of player who throughout my whole career has had points to prove. I don’t think that ever leaves you.
“Now I’m at Bayern Munich and they’re a top team in the Champions League and of course I have history with them but all I can do is try and help Bayern Munich qualify for the semi-finals.”
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