Mikel Arteta hails Arsenal's resilience and quality after dramatic late victory at Luton

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta praised his players' "resilience, character, and quality" after Declan Rice's last-gasp goal secured a thrilling 4-3 win against Luton Town in the Premier League on Tuesday.

Arsenal entered the half-time break at Kenilworth Road leading 2-1 following goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus either side of Gabriel Osho's equaliser. But the league leaders soon trailled 3-2 after strikes by Elijah Adebayo and Ross Barkley. Kai Havertz soon pulled the Gunners level on the hour mark before England midfielder Rice grabbed the winner in the seventh minute of stoppage time to move Arsenal five points clear at the top of the table.

"I really enjoyed [it], especially the end," Arteta said. "The incredible thing about football, the emotions and the moments that you live together with a lot of people. It was a special night.

"Credit to Luton for the incredible atmosphere they created, the way they played, the way they were coached, they made life really difficult for us, but we found a win. The resilience, the character and quality that the team showed, and how much we wanted it, it was great."

Arsenal have been superb away from home since the start of last season – winning 17 away games in that period – and the Gunners' first trip to Kenilworth Road for 32 years brought their first victory at the venue since 1984.

They struck first in the 20th minute when Bukayo Saka weaved his way down the right flank for a low cross that Martinelli met with a scuffed finish into the bottom corner from 12 yards.

Undone by a well-worked corner routine, Arsenal were left flat-footed five minutes later as Osho found space to thump his header past goalkeeper David Raya from 10 yards for his first Premier League