Mikel Arteta revealed Eberechi Eze returned early after international duty before he starred in Arsenal's derby win over Tottenham.
The 27-year-old scored a sensational hat-trick in the 4-1 victory as the Gunners thrashed their north London rivals to move six points clear at the top of the Premier League.
Eze was close to joining Spurs in the summer before getting his dream move to Arsenal and the derby provided his lift-off moment in a Gunners shirt.
The midfielder was involved in both of England's matches during the recent international break but was still desperate to return to Arsenal training ahead of schedule.
"Things happen for a reason," Arteta said.
"And after the international duty, he had two days off, and after one day he wanted to train, and he wanted to improve, and he wanted to do extra practice and he was asking me questions about this and that.
"And when a player has such a talent, and his desire is at that level, then these things happen. And he fully deserves it. I'm so happy for him, because since the day that he came, he brought something else to the team.
"So it's a joy, it's an aura that this team needed and hopefully it will give him a lot of confidence, to him and the team, that at any moment he can win us a game. And that's the ability that he has, and he certainly needs to fulfil that talent."
Spurs believed they had reached an agreement to sign Eze from Crystal Palace in August, only for the deal to be hijacked by Arsenal.
Arteta praised Eze's desire after his hat-trick display, pointing to that being a trait he has seen in him since their first conversation in the summer.
"That's what he showed from the beginning," Arteta said.
"And when he picked up the phone, I remember last summer, he said he wanted to play for us, and he wanted to be part of this team.
"You can really sense that. And hopefully he can enjoy today, and tomorrow he's ready for Bayern Munich."
