Mikel Arteta hailed Arsenal’s pulsating win over Everton as “one of the best moments” the club has experienced under his reign at the Emirates. The Spaniard, who almost ripped his trousers during the celebrations, also paid tribute to 16-year-old attacker Max Dowman, who came off the bench to have a hand in the first goal before netting the second. Arteta insists Dowman is one of the most impressive youngsters he has ever seen.

Dowman became the Premier League’s youngest-ever goalscorer with his 97th-minute finish into an empty net after Jordan Pickford was stranded upfield at an Everton corner. Arteta hailed the teenager’s attitude as he explained his decision to bring on the teenage wonderkid as his side chased the game: “Probably in my head I had a gut feeling. I was watching him in training in the last few days and I had a gut feeling that it was a moment for him.

“He doesn’t seem fazed by the occasions, the moment of the context of the opponent. He just plays so naturally, he makes decisions that make things happen and what he delivered was incredible.

“I told him ‘go and do your thing and win us the game’ and I said the same to Victor [Gyokeres] and to [Gabriel] Martinelli]. I said these are the moments in the season when something special has to happen. He knows he has the ability, which I have to give him the opportunity, and he will deliver.”

Arteta is a massive fan of Dowman’s. He added: “It was incredible. It was so loud, so energetic. What a moment. I think his character, his personality and the fact that, as I said, he doesn’t seem to be fazed by the pressure or his team-mates or the opponent. I’ve seen a lot of players with talent but at 16, very few that can cope with that level of demand.”

When asked whether this was the win that proves Arsenal have it within them to get over the line, Arteta added: “I think it’s been incredible the last couple of months. It’s been sensational.

“We are in every competition and we are competing in every single game like it’s the last one and some days we’ll be better, some other times exceptional, some other times not that good.

“But that relentless desire to win that I feel in the team is just one of the best things that, in my opinion, this team has.”