Super sub Gabriel Martinelli snatches historic win for Arsenal over Manchester City

Super sub Gabriel Martinelli grabbed a late winner against Manchester City to give Arsenal a historic win over the Treble winners after 8 long years.

This result now moves the Gunners level on points with North London rival Tottenham Hotspur at the top of the Premier League. Mikel Arteta’s side came into this game having not beaten City in the league since 2015.

This was also their longest winless streak against a single opponent in Premier League history. City started the first half really well, and created better chances compared to the Gunners.

Arsenal were dealt a huge blow ahead of kickoff, as it was confirmed that injured Bukayo Saka would miss a Premier League game for the first time since May 2021, ending a run of 87 consecutive appearances, the longest ongoing run in the competition.

Gabriel Martinelli fires Arsenal to a 1-0 win over Manchester City

Arsenal did not have a great first half as they only had one shot on target and nearly conceded a goal, but Declan Rice cleared the ball off the line to keep them alive. Julian Alvarez almost diverted Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya’s hesitant clearance into the net.

Even though Arsenal did not have a great first half, they upped their tempo in the second half after Martinelli came on. Furthermore, Premier League top scorer Erling Haaland was kept quite by Arsenal’s defence.

The Gunners were still lacking the final product in their attack, but things changed when Mikel Arteta made substitutions in the 75th minute.

However, it was the Brazilian sensation Gabriel Martinelli, who helped Arsenal to win. After Kavi Havertz made a short pass in the penalty box, Martinelli took a shot that smacked the face of Nathan Ake before beating Ederson, it was fitting that it was the returning Martinelli who made the difference for Mikel Arteta’s team.