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Nicolas Pepe told Mikel Arteta at 3am in the morning that he wanted to play for Arsenal against Wolves despite the birth of his child.

The Ivorian came off the bench to score his side's equaliser before Alexandre Lacazette bagged a stoppage time winner at the Emirates.

Pepe has by no means been a regular this season and will have been understandably buoyed by his personal news.

Nevertheless he underlined his commitment by making his plans clear to Arteta, who hailed his attitude as a sign of the unity within the squad.

The late three points further Arsenal's push for the top four and puts them in pole position at this stage of the season.

Arteta told TalkSport : “Pepe, he had a baby last night. At 2-3am he text me and said yeah, I want to come and help the team.

"So this thing happened and it isn’t a coincidence, it’s because the togetherness and unity is there."

Pepe said the goal was “in honor of my son. Welcome E” on Instagram after his efforts.

The Gunners boss claimed recently that he has seen a change in the former Lille man, whom he backed to make a telling contribution.

He claimed: "I told you last week, I see a different Nico. I don’t know, it’s his energy, his happiness, his all-round play, how he’s training, I was convinced that he could come in and do something for the team."

Pepe levelled the contested with eight