SUBSTITUTE Gabriel Martinelli netted the equaliser in stoppage time to earn Arsenal a 1-1 draw with Manchester City in a tough English Premier League clash at the Emirates Stadium today.
It is the second consecutive match that Martinelli has come off the bench to score as Mikel Arteta’s substitutes continue to have an impact.
The Arsenal boss said after the midweek win over Athletic Club in the UEFA Champions League that his “finishers could be more important” than the starting players – and that belief was again backed up.
The Gunners went behind in the ninth minute on Sunday when Erling Haaland rolled the ball past David Raya at the end of a devastating City counter-attack.
Arsenal pushed for an equaliser for much of the second half and were rewarded with Martinelli’s dinked finish in the 93rd minute.
Arteta again named a midfield three of Martin Zubimendi, Declan Rice and Mikel Merino and the Gunners struggled to create any chances of note before the break, much to the frustration of the home crowd.
Eberechi Eze and Bukayo Saka, who was returning from a hamstring injury, were introduced at the start of the second half and the hosts immediately started playing with more intensity.
Zubimendi shot just over from the edge of the box and Eze forced Donnarumma into a smart save as Arsenal chased a leveller.
However, City continued to threaten on the counter-attack, with Belgium winger Jeremy Doku their main outlet.
In the latter stages, City boss Pep Guardiola responded to Arsenal’s threat by switching to a back five as the visitors looked to protect their lead.
However, Martinelli latched on to Eze’s injury-time through ball and lifted his finish over the onrushing Donnarumma to the jubilation of the home fans.
Arteta is now the only boss to have gone five successive games unbeaten against Guardiola in his managerial career.
With agency report