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.
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"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 minutes left after Hwang Hee-chan had put Wolves ahead early on.
Lacazette's winner came in the fifth minute of added time and Arteta ranked as among his best wins as Arsenal boss.
He said: "Well it was a great one. Winning at the end against a really good team, who - once they are ahead - are extremely difficult to beat them.
"I think they haven’t lost a game after going ahead since 2018, but we kept pushing. I think the attitude, the spirit, the quality the energy that the players put in, in the second-half again.
"To fight, to go and win the match was phenomenal. It created a great atmosphere and synergy with our fans, and it was great to win it that way."
Arsenal are now one point behind rivals Manchester United with two games in hand as they target the Champions League.
The Gunners have now been at Europe's top table since 2017 but could again feature next season if they continue to string results together.
Arteta's next assignment will be an away trip to Watford.
