Arsenal star Gabriel Martinelli scored a dramatic winner to seal the Gunners’ first Premier League victory over Manchester City since 2015. Last season’s title-race protagonists played out an edgy encounter at the Emirates Stadium, but it’s Mikel Arteta who will leave with a skip in his step, and as the dust settles, Express Sport takes you through four of the contest’s key talking points…
Arsenal ‘nervous wreck’ gets off lightly
Debate around Arteta’s goalkeeper selection is not going anywhere just yet. David Raya, who has replaced Aaron Ramsdale to become Arsenal’s first choice in recent weeks, was described as a ‘nervous wreck’ by Gary Neville at home to City.
The description is a fair one. Many wondered whether Arteta would substitute the Spaniard at half-time after giving the ball away on multiple occasions in the first period, with one such incident nearly gifting Julian Alvarez a calamitous goal.
Raya was ultimately bailed out by Martinelli’s winner, but the shaky display will at least come with a bright side for Ramsdale, who according to Gunners hero Theo Walcott, will have been ‘dancing on the bench’ as his chances of a return to the starting XI improve.
Guardiola spurns lucky break
The Sky Blues certainly can’t claim to have been unlucky on their afternoon at the Emirates. Mateo Kovacic was almost universally deemed fortunate to avoid a straight red card for a high challenge on Martin Odegaard in the first half, and the Croatian went one better by evading a second yellow for a late tackle on Declan Rice just six minutes later.
Despite Kovacic clearly being close to the edge with referee Michael Oliver, Pep Guardiola held his nerve and opted not to substitute the former Chelsea star until beyond the hour mark.
The fact the City boss did not turn to his bench and call on Kalvin Phillips was particularly telling, with the England international still feeding off scraps of game time even with Rodri suspended.
Although the Sky Blues were pinching themselves to be finishing the game with 11 men, they were unable to capitalise as Arsenal notched a vital victory.
Martinelli makes statement
Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah made up the front-three against City, and they came up short in their quest to find a way through the visiting defence until Martinelli was brought on at half-time.
Although Bukayo Saka missing out came as a blow, Martinelli’s return to action was a major positive, and he made a huge statement in the 86th minute with the game’s decisive moment, as his powerful effort deflected off the unfortunate Nathan Ake to bank three monumental points for the hosts.
Haaland drought continues
Erling Haaland’s definition of a goal drought differs from other strikers in the Premier League – but that simply comes with the territory after blitzing the single-season record in 2022/23 by scoring 36 times.
The Norwegian drew blank once more against Arsenal, extending his run to just one goal in five matches since the win over West Ham on September 16. While City will be devastated to come away from noth London empty-handed, an unusually dry spell for their star striker may soon become another source of concern.
