Gabriel Martinelli: Man City win boosts Arsenal title ambition as match-winner defies the odds
Martinelli’s deflected strike in the 86th minute earned Arsenal a first League win over City since 2015 and moved them joint-top of the table with rivals Tottenham.
A landmark result was all the more significant for coming without Saka, whose record-breaking run of 87 consecutive League appearances came to end after he was left out of the squad with a tight hamstring.
Asked if the result had increased belief that Arsenal could win the title, Martinelli said: “Yes, of course. We are Arsenal and we are always believing about the title.
“But 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.
“When you play for Arsenal you have to always believe and this is what we do: we always believe we can win titles. It’s another year, we’re going to try to improve and do better than last year.”
On the absent Saka, Martinelli added: “We know our potential. We know how important he is for us. We know his potential. We tried to win the game for our fans, for us and for B as well.”
Title belief: Gabriel Martinelli fired Arsenal to a first win over Manchester City since 2015
/ Arsenal FC via Getty ImagesMartinelli’s first goal of the season came on his return after missing five games with a hamstring injury, with the Brazilian replacing Leandro Trossard at the interval.
And the winner involved all four of Mikel Arteta’s subs, with Thomas Partey and Takehiro Tomiyasu involved before Kai Havertz’s lay-off to Martinelli, whose effort cannoned home off Nathan Ake’s head.
“I think we have more depth [than last season],” Martinelli said. “It was a special day for me. I tried my best to be back with the team and it was a great win.”
City were fortunate not to have Mateo Kovacic sent off in the first half after the midfielder was booked for a lunge on Martin Odegaard, which was reviewed by the VAR, before avoiding a second yellow card for another slide tackle on Declan Rice.
When you play for Arsenal you have to always believe and this is what we do: we always believe we can win titles
Arteta said he was “not bothered” by the controversy and praised Martinelli for his attitude and impact.
“He’s been saying for a few weeks, ‘I’m going to be there against City’,” Arteta said of the forward. “Everyone was saying, ‘Gabi it will be too early for you’.
“Yesterday he said, ‘Boss, I told you I’m going to be ready for this’. It happened that Leo, after 30 minutes, felt something in his hamstring.
“I turned around and [Martinelli] was ready to go with his kit. ‘Boss, I’m ready’. It’s the joy of a kid. His mentality is incredible at his age. It’s a joy to have him. He could change a game and he was really helpful for us to win the game.”
Arteta said that his side’s 4-1 defeat at the Etihad last season, which put City in pole position for the title, had primed his players to finally end a run of 12 straight defeats against the champions.
“Obviously it was something we needed to go through,” he said. “To beat them we have to lose against them, we have to lose probably the way we lost at the Etihad.
“We lost in two different ways last season, here where we were the better team, especially in the first half and then we concede the goal on the back pass of Tomiyasu and [Kevin] De Bruyne scoring.
“The team showed a real maturity, that comes from experiences. Sometimes you need that to become a better team.”
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