Arsenal’s substitute, Gabriel Martinelli, delivered a late, deflected match-winning goal to secure a 1-0 victory over Manchester City on Sunday. This result propelled Mikel Arteta’s team to the same number of points as their North London rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, at the summit of the Premier League.
Arsenal entered the match with a 15-game league winless streak against City, dating back to 2015, marking their longest period without a win against a single opponent in league history.
The chances in the first half favored City, with Arsenal’s Declan Rice clearing a shot off the line to keep the champions at bay. However, the hosts failed to register a single shot on target in the opening period.
After halftime, Arsenal increased their intensity, though City continued to create better opportunities, despite Premier League top scorer Erling Haaland being kept in check.
The match appeared destined for a draw until Martinelli struck four minutes from time, with a deflection off City defender Nathan Ake’s head redirecting the ball past goalkeeper Ederson.
The Emirates Stadium erupted in celebration as Arsenal moved into second place with 20 points, surpassing City by two points and trailing Spurs only on goal difference.
Mikel Arteta expressed his satisfaction, saying, “It is a great feeling. We have not beaten them for so long, but I am in no doubt we have beaten the best team in the world. I am really proud to be part of this team. We have to keep believing in what we are doing.”
Arsenal faced a setback as Bukayo Saka was confirmed to be unavailable for the match, ending his streak of 87 consecutive league appearances, the longest ongoing streak in the competition since May 2021.
Without Saka, Arsenal initially struggled, but gradually improved, with the crowd’s enthusiastic support boosting their performance. Despite this, they failed to register a shot on target in the first half of a Premier League home game for the first time since March 2022.
Gabriel Martinelli’s substitution injected energy into Arsenal, and he produced their first on-target shot, a powerful strike straight at Ederson.
With the international break approaching, the game seemed to be losing its momentum until Martinelli’s late heroics. This result meant that Arsenal remained unbeaten in the Premier League this season, with their longest unbeaten start to a campaign since 2007-08, while City suffered consecutive league defeats for the first time since December 2018.
City coach Pep Guardiola congratulated Arsenal and looked ahead to the international break, saying, “Congratulations to Arsenal. Now we have two defeats in a row and then we have the internationals. Hopefully they [the players] come back fit, and then we go again. Maybe it’s a bit better to be there [in the chasing pack] and see what we have to do to catch them and then [we will] when we come back.