A dignified but clearly delighted Mikel Arteta hailed his ten-man Arsenal team as they twice fought back to earn a point against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in a pulsating 2-2 draw on Tuesday evening.
Arsenal showed character to rally following David Luiz's red card against his former club and twice come from behind.
The Gunners looked down and out following Jorginho's first half penalty to put the Blues 1-0 ahead from the penalty spot after Luiz was shown a straight red card for tangling with Tammy Abraham in the box.
The Chelsea forward had reacted to pounced on an awful backpass by Shkodran Mustafi and went past the Gunners German keeper Bernd Leno when he fell to the ground after coming into contact with Luiz.
Arteta proud of performance
However, while Chelsea were in the ascendancy for long spells they simply couldn't finish off the determined Gunners.
Arteta said: "I am [proud]. The spirit they showed, the character, the fight and the leadership was there as well. You have to really stand up.
"When someone makes a mistake, it can happen in football, so someone has to take a red card for him. It can happen.
"What cannot happen is that afterwards we don't stand up for him. Every single player did it with belief as well.
"I could sense it at half-time that they believed they could get back in the game. I wasn't expecting Hector to score with his left foot obviously, but I'm very pleased."
Chelsea were punished when midfielder N'Golo Kante lost his footing near the centre circle, allowing Martinelli to race free before calmly slotting home past Kepa to make it 1-1.
Frank Lampard's side thought they had clinched victory when skipper Cesar Azpilicueta slotted home from six yards on 84 minutes.
But that was without reckoning on the new found spirit Arsenal showed to grab a well-deserved point through captain for the night Hector Bellerin.
The right-back, making his first appearance since the 2-1 home defeat by Brighton on December 5, curled in a superlative goal from outside the box to send his teammates - and the vociferous 3,000 travelling fans wild.
"We're playing with a lot of young kids," Arteta said to journalists after the match at Stamford Bridge, including VAVEL, adding: "What they've shown tonight is going to be a great experience for them, to keep believing that in football if you put everything in, anything can happen.
"In that sense, it's top."
Arteta received praise from fans and pundits alike after refusing to change an attacking player for a more defensive replacement immediately after Luiz's sending-off.
The Arsenal head coach had signalled to Rob Holding to come on moments after Jorginho's penalty had put Chelsea ahead.
However, after the Gunners defender had stripped off his training top and was readying to come on, Arteta decided against the cautious substitution, preferring instead to let Granit Xhaka remain as makeshift centre-half - a role he relished throughout the match.
When asked if he had opted to take Martinelli off at 1-0, Arteta said no.
"Not Martinelli," he explained, adding: "But I did change my mind [about the substitution].
"I was thinking about that and I said, 'I don't want to send that message to the team'.
"We decided to keep it as we were and give them a chance. I wanted to see how they could respond to that.
"I didn't want to make the response for them because I want them to be accountable for what they do and I didn't want to make a decision so they wouldn't decide for themselves. It's a great response from them."
On Granit Zhaka
Arteta then went on to praise Xhaka for the spirit and defensive solidity he showed throughout the match in the heart of the backline.
Xhaka partnered Mustafi as the pairing held off constant Chelsea pressure throughout the second period.
The formerly troubled Swiss international had looked set to leave Arsenal for mid table Bundesliga side Hertha Berlin earlier this month, but Arteta used all his powers of persuasion to convince the former Borussia Moenchengladbach midfielder to stay at the Emirates.
His persistence paid off with Xhaka performing exceptionally well in an unfamiliar position.
"From day one, I spoke with him,' Arteta revealed.
"His mind was a little bit varied after a lot of things that happened to him in his life and his family.
"I tried to convince him that it was the right place for him to play. I wanted to try to give him the opportunity to try to enjoy playing football again.
"Everything I ask him to do, every training session, he's like this and is willing to do it.
"Today, I knew the moment I put him there, I don't know how well he was going to do but he was going to put everything in. He was great."
Praise for Alex Lacazette
The Arsenal boss also had words of encouragement for Alex Lacazette, who drew another blank at Stamford Bridge, despite a lively display in the final third.
The former Lyon man now has only six goals from 21 games this term, but Arteta claimed he was not concerned.
"[He was] Amazing. Amazing," said Arteta.
"That's right. He sacrificed a lot for the team. Sometimes he may lack a little bit of energy at the end because he's doing extra work, but I'm so happy with him."
Tenth place Arsenal remain 10 points off fourth place Chelsea with Arteta's side on 30 points, showing two wins in 16 Premier League games.
However, the draw means they are still unbeaten in 2020, with only one defeat in the seven matches he has been in charge.
The 37-year-old believes if his side show as much character as they did against Chelsea, their quality will shine through and the results will come.
On thing is for sure, Arteta will refuse to allow complacency to return on the back of a pleasing result and performance.
"I hope they take it [the result] in a good way," the Arsenal taskmaster insisted, adding: "And they say, 'OK from here we move to a different level and not say that we've done it at Chelsea, now we're go somewhere else and it will be easy'.
"I will not let them think that."
Arsenal now have a break from league action as they face Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Monday evening in the fourth round of the FA Cup.