Arsene Wenger hailed Danny Welbeck as "exceptional" as the Arsenal forward scored a late winner to condemn relegation-threatened Southampton to defeat at the Emirates Stadium.
Charlie Austin came off the bench to equalise for Saints with his first touch after Shane Long's earlier effort had been cancelled out by goals from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Welbeck.
But Welbeck was on hand to score a second of the afternoon and secure a 3-2 win for Arsenal - who have won six games in a row for the first time this season - as a fiery end to the game saw both sides finish with 10 men as Jack Stephens and Mohamed Elneny saw red.