Gabriel Martinelli claims his late goal to beat Manchester City proves Arsenal are a tougher proposition than last season. The Brazilian was part of the team which threw away an eight-point lead in April to finish second in the title race to a side which they had not beaten in the Premier League since 2015.
But today they sit two points ahead of Pep Guardiola’s team after their 1-0 win at the Emirates yesterday. And they have more belief that this time they can stay there right till the end of the campaign.
“Was it a psychological boost? Yeah, it’s always good to win against the big teams and we did it against City,” Martinelli said. “I’m so happy. We are Arsenal and we are always believing about the title.
“To win against a big side like them is great. We just need to carry on. We know how hard it is to play against them. It was a great performance from the team and a great win.
“When you play for Arsenal you have to always believe and this is what we do. We play for Arsenal and we always believe we can win titles.” They picked up the three points despite having to cope without the presence of Bukayo Saka in the Premier League side for the first time in 88 matches.
Saka injured his hamstring attempting a back-heel in the Champions League clash with Lens on Tuesday night and wasn’t even on the bench unlike the returning Martinelli. “We know how important he is for us,” the South American forward admitted.
“We know his potential. Against City we did our best, tried to win the game for our fans, for us and for Bukayo as well. It’s another year, we’re going to try to improve things, and do better than last year.
“I think we have more squad depth. We have a great team and it’s important to have a lot of options.” Scoring the winner was also an important moment for Martinelli personally, after as stop-start season due to a series of niggling injuries.
“Yeah, it was a special day for me,” he said. “I tried my best really hard to be back with the team and it was a great win.”
In a further boost to Arsenal, Brazil have decided not to call Martinelli back to South America for the World Cup 2024 qualification matches so that he can continue to work on his rehabilitation with Chelsea the next visitors to Stamford Bridge at the end this international break.
