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.
Outgoing Brighton boss De Zerbi not walking into new job
Roberto De Zerbi insisted he does not have another job lined up after overseeing his final game as Brighton and Hove Albion boss on Sunday.
One day after surprisingly announcing De Zerbi's departure, Brighton ended their Premier League campaign with a 2-0 home loss to Manchester United.
That meant they slipped below rivals Crystal Palace to finish 11th in the table, their first bottom-half placing since finishing 16th in 2020-21.
De Zerbi has been linked with several big clubs since leading Brighton to European qualification last season, with Bayern Munich, Milan and Napoli touted as possible landing spots for the former Sassuolo and Shakhtar Donetsk coach.
However, De Zerbi says he has not reached an agreement with any other club, telling reporters: "There isn't any club – no-one offered me anything. At the moment, nothing.
"I hope to work in the Premier League again. I don't know where or when, but it was an honour to work in the Premier League."
Sunday's defeat was De Zerbi's 70th Premier League game in charge of Brighton, with his top-flight win percentage of 37 per cent (26/70) the highest of any boss in the Seagulls' history.
Battling a lengthy injury list for much of 2023-24, Brighton made a total of 143 changes to their starting lineup throughout the course of the campaign, with only Manchester City in 2019-20 (144) ever making more in a single Premier League season.
Asked by BBC Match of the Day if there was a particular reason for his exit, the Italian added: "We didn't find the agreement to move on. I want to keep my way.
"I know very well what I want to do and I know I am a coach and I have to accept the policies of the club.
"They gave me an incredible chance. They gave me the possibility to know incredible people, to play and to work in the Premier League, to play in the Europa League. They gave me the opportunity to know this club, this city, these fans and that I cannot forget."
Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna and Nice coach Francesco Farioli have both been tipped as possible contenders to replace De Zerbi, with Brighton having a reputation for excellent succession planning under owner Tony Bloom.
Asked about the search for a replacement on Sunday, Bloom said: "We always try and have a plan. We have got a plan. We now need to execute that plan."
Mateta 'finishing everything that comes to him' as Palace rout Villa
Jean-Philippe Mateta is "finishing everything that comes to him", according to his Crystal Palace team-mate Eberechi Eze.
Palace thumped fourth-placed Aston Villa 5-0 at home on the last day of the Premier League season to seal an unlikely top-10 finish, with Mateta scoring a hat-trick and Eze adding two goals of his own.
They ended the season with a seven-match unbeaten run under Oliver Glasner, who made a huge impact after replacing Roy Hodgson in February.
Mateta has been a huge beneficiary, as since Glasner's first game in charge on February 24, he has scored 13 Premier League goals, which is more than any other player in the competition.
He ended the campaign with 16 top-flight goals, putting him level with the likes of Bukayo Saka and Jarrod Bowen in the scoring charts. Only Andrew Johnson has netted more for the Eagles across a single campaign in the competition, when he netted 21 in 2004-05.
"He is what I'm playing for," Eze said about Mateta, per Palace's official website.
"He is finishing everything that comes to him, which makes our life a lot easier when I'm playing for him, so it's good.
"I did come close [to a hat-trick myself], but the most important thing is putting in good performances. We're all going to flourish, we're all going to have games where we score.
"We're preparing the work and we're doing the work before we go on to the pitch, so we're enjoying it, that's the main thing."
The match also saw Mateta become just the second Frenchman to score in seven home Premier League home appearances in a row, after Thierry Henry for Arsenal between May and October 2004.
Eze has also finished the season with a flourish, ending the campaign with 11 goals and four assists.
Mateta is among those who have called for him to earn a place in the England squad for Euro 2024.
"Of course it's an honour [to play for your country]," said Eze. "It would be a great experience.
"I think it is a dream for any player to play in any big tournament. But the main thing, I'm being realistic. It is what it is: if I get a call, I get a call.
"But the main thing is doing what I need to do for my club, and that's the performance."
Villa are the first side to concede five or more goals in their first and final matches of a top-flight season since Manchester City in 1962-63, having been beaten 5-1 at Newcastle on the opening weekend.
But they were magnificent in between those two losses, enjoying a campaign to remember as they qualified for the Champions League, confounding pre-season expectations.
"Thank you to our supporters because even today they were with us," said Villa boss Unai Emery after Sunday's loss.
"We achieved our objective on Tuesday [when UCL qualification was confirmed] and we did everything we could with our supporters in Villa Park on Monday [in the 3-3 draw with Liverpool].
"They were travelling here to be with us, supporting us so we are disappointed with the result, but we have to accept it.
"We have to be happy and share with our supporters the whole season, not just today. Every match is very important and we lost, but we’d achieved our target.
"We have to accept it and keep going forward. Now it’s time to rest and try to follow our players with their national teams and prepare as best as possible the next season.
"We have to enjoy the season we did and we’re very excited for the next season, but we have to take our time now."
Howe taking plenty of positives despite frustrating Newcastle campaign
Eddie Howe was keen to look at the positives after Newcastle United secured seventh place in the Premier League on Sunday.
Alexander Isak and Bruno Guimaraes were among the goalscorers as Newcastle won 4-2 at Brentford to finish their Premier League campaign.
The victory ensured a seventh-place finish, and a Manchester City victory over Manchester United in next Saturday's FA Cup final will confirm Newcastle's place in next season's Europa Conference League.
While this season did not quite live up to the heroics of last term, which saw the Magpies finish in the Champions League spots, Howe still feels it has been a successful campaign.
"It summed up our season," Howe told BBC Sport. "We weren't totally secure at the back, but great credit to the players. They've done their job - now we wait and see.
"We anticipated after losing against Manchester United that our control of the [European] situation had gone. It's never a nice situation, but whatever happens, happens.
"We have issues to solve defensively. If we can do that, next season could be another season of really strong performances. This was a season that could have been better, but a good season overall.
"We're a really united club. I think we're still moving forward, so there's a lot to be positive about."
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