Mikel Arteta praised the mentality of Gabriel Martinelli for putting his penalty miss against Sporting CP behind him with his display in Arsenal's 4-1 win over Crystal Palace.
Martinelli's saved spot-kick proved decisive in Arsenal's Europa League last-16 shoot-out defeat to Sporting on Thursday, with Nuno Santos stepping up to eliminate Arteta's men.
The Brazil international was named in Arsenal's starting line-up to face Palace on Sunday and opened the scoring in a routine victory as the Gunners returned to winning ways.
Arteta revealed after the game that he deliberated over whether to include Martinelli from the beginning, but his decision to do so more than paid off.
"The reaction he had after missing the penalty... There's always the question," Arteta told BBC Sport. "But I asked him how he was and he said he wants to be in the team."
Martinelli is Arsenal's leading goalscorer in the Premier League this season with 13 goals, including six in his past six top-flight appearances.
That is the most goals a player has scored in a single campaign for Arsenal while aged 21 or under since Nicolas Anelka's 17 in the 1998-99 campaign.
Reflecting on how he put the disappointment of missing a penalty behind him, Martinelli said: "It is life. Not every game you are going to score and play well.
"Of course I was sad and spent the whole night thinking about that penalty, but it is over. I scored a goal today and we got the three points, which is the most important thing."
Bukayo Saka assisted Martinelli's brilliantly taken opener and scored two goals of his own, either side of Granit Xhaka's strike, as Arsenal made it six league wins in a row.
England international Saka is the only player in the Premier League this season with double figures for both goals (12) and assists (10), but he was upset not to get a hat-trick.
"He was disappointed," Arteta said. "That is what we need. We need our front players firing and making the difference and today they did that again.
"The desire and the energy that we put in right from the beginning impressed me most. We were really determined and focused and left Thursday in the past.
"After playing 120 minutes, they have to come back here and do it again against a team with a lot of needs."
Arsenal have now won 22 Premier League games this season, which is as many as they managed across the whole of last season and their most ever after 28 games.
Arteta's side are eight points clear of Manchester City, who have a game in hand, heading into the final international break of the season.
"It feels very good, especially with the way we have played and the results we have picked up," Arteta said of his side's points advantage on City, who they still have to play.
"Now we must stop and make sure everyone comes back from the internationals with the same mindset. We have Leeds next and we put the focus there."
Palace, who sacked Patrick Vieira earlier this week, are one of two sides yet to win a match in England's top four tiers in 2023 along with League One's Forest Green Rovers.
Jeffrey Schlupp did manage to pull a goal back for Palace at 3-0 when taking advantage of some sloppy defending, which meant Arteta was not entirely pleased with his side.
"I am not happy with that," he said. "Again, it is from a set-piece. We need to improve on that."
With their victory against Palace, Arsenal are the first side in English Football League history to win as many as nine London derbies in a single league season.
Rennes make top four, Nantes survive and Auxerre relegated on Ligue 1 final day
Rennes edged out Lille and Monaco to secure a top-four finish while Nantes' first league win since February saw them stay up at Auxerre's expense on a dramatic final day of Ligue 1 action.
Rennes clinched a 2-1 victory against Brest thanks to a Benjamin Bourigeaud brace, seizing on Lille's 1-1 draw with relegated Troyes and Monaco's 2-1 reverse against Toulouse to take fourth.
Bruno Genesio's side thus secured Europa League football for next season, while Paulo Fonseca's Lille must settle for a Europa Conference League spot and Monaco missed out entirely.
Champions Paris Saint-Germain squandered a two-goal lead in a 3-2 loss to Clermont, meaning they finished just one point clear of runners-up Lens, who ended the season with a 3-1 win at Auxerre.
That victory allowed Nantes to finalise a great escape in their final game, vaulting Auxerre to secure safety with a 1-0 win over relegated Angers.
Nantes therefore secured top-flight football for another year, evading the expanded four-team relegation zone by a single point ahead of the division being cut to 18 teams.
Auxerre, Ajaccio, Troyes and Angers will play in Ligue 2 next season, with Le Havre and either Metz or Bordeaux coming up from the second tier.
Lionel Messi’s final game for Paris St Germain ends in defeat to Clermont
Lionel Messi ended his Paris St Germain career with a 3-2 defeat to Clermont.
The Argentinian World Cup winner will quit Paris this summer having already been linked with a return to Barcelona and Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal next season.
He will leave as a Ligue 1 champion with PSG having already secured the title before blowing a 2-0 lead to lose on the final day of the season.
Sergio Ramos, on his final appearance for the club, and Kylian Mbappe’s penalty gave the hosts control.
Johan Gastien pulled a goal back and Mehdi Zeffane levelled in first-half stoppage time. Grejohn Kyei gave the visitors the lead after 63 minutes and Clermont held out for victory.
At the bottom, Nantes beat the drop by a point on the final day as Auxerre were relegated.
A 1-0 win over rock-bottom Angers, thanks to Ignatius Ganago’s goal, gave Nantes the win they needed as Auxerre lost 3-1 at home to Lens.
Alexis Claude-Maurice’s double gave Lens a 2-0 lead before M’Baye Niang pulled a goal back. Lois Openda made it 3-1 with 12 minutes left to seal Auxerre’s fate.
Rennes won 2-1 at Brest as they clinched fourth ahead of Lille thanks to Benjamin Bourigeaud’s double, with Lille held 1-1 by relegated Troyes to go into the Europa Conference League qualifiers.
Monaco missed out on the top five after a 2-1 defeat at home to Toulouse.
Relegated Ajaccio beat third-placed Marseille 1-0, Lorient beat Strasbourg 2-1 and Nice beat Lyon 3-1 with mid-table Montpellier winning 3-1 at Reims, finishing a point behind their hosts.
In Germany, Chelsea-bound Christopher Nkunku opened the scoring as RB Leipzig beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 in the German Cup final.
The striker broke the deadlock in the 71st minute before Dominik Szoboszlai doubled the lead with five minutes left.
In Italy, Lazio sealed second spot in Serie A after a 2-0 win at Empoli thanks to goals from Alessio Romagnoli and Luis Alberto.
It came after Marcelo Brozovic scored the winner as Inter Milan beat Torino 1-0 to briefly move ahead of them but Inter must now settle for third.
Already relegated Cremonese beat Salernitana 2-0 to finish their season on a high.
Paris Saint-Germain 2-3 Clermont: Messi and Ramos denied winning send-off as visitors fight back
Paris Saint-Germain failed to muster a winning send-off for Lionel Messi and Sergio Ramos as they ended the Ligue 1 season by squandering a two-goal lead in a 3-2 loss against Clermont.
Early goals for the Spaniard and Kylian Mbappe put the champions on top at Parc des Princes, before Johan Gastien, Mehdi Zeffane and Grejohn Kyei completed a stirring comeback from the visitors.
It was a damp last note for ex-LaLiga heroes Messi and Ramos, who leave Paris as two-time league champions but without having won supporters' hearts – with Messi booed ahead of kick-off.
Likewise, it may prove a dour final chapter for coach Christophe Galtier, who is widely tipped to depart despite leading PSG to a record 11th league title.
PSG, who wore shirts adorned with the name of injured team-mate Sergio Rico in the first half, needed VAR to rescue them after Kyei prodded home an early finish.
The hosts promptly seized control, with Ramos netting a farewell header from Vitinha's delivery before Mbappe doubled their lead with an excellent penalty following Alidu Seidu's foul on Achraf Hakimi.
Clermont refused to fold though, with Gastien capitalising on Marco Verratti's mistake to halve the arrears and Zeffane bundling in a leveller either side of Kyei putting a spot-kick wide in a thrilling first half.
Messi, who misfired on his farewell, spurned a chance to finish Mbappe's square ball after the restart before Kyei nosed the visitors in front with a close-range finish.
PSG continued to toil for an equaliser in the closing stages and Messi almost stole a point in the final minute of injury time, only for goalkeeper Mory Diaw to stop his direct free-kick with an acrobatic save.
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