Gabriel Martinelli got here off the bench to attain a dramatic stoppage-time equaliser, securing a 1-1 draw for Arsenal in opposition to Manchester Metropolis on the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
This marked the second time in 5 days that Martinelli had salvaged a degree for his workforce with an outstanding lob that caught Metropolis goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma off-guard within the third minute of added time.
Manchester Metropolis had taken the lead early within the match, with Erling Haaland scoring simply 9 minutes in, prompting fears of a probably sobering defeat for Mikel Arteta’s facet. Metropolis’s spectacular defensive show appeared poised to see them by to victory till Martinelli’s late intervention.
The draw leaves Arsenal 5 factors adrift of Premier League leaders Liverpool, who’ve gained all 5 of their matches up to now, whereas Pep Guardiola’s Metropolis discover themselves eight factors off the tempo.
Earlier than Sunday’s encounter, the Gunners prided themselves on not conceding a objective from open play this season. Nevertheless, Haaland rapidly dismantled that statistic, opening the scoring simply eight minutes and 31 seconds into the match. The hosts struggled to keep up management in midfield as Haaland rolled previous defender Gabriel and arrange Tijjani Reijnders for a essential move. With Arsenal’s backline stretched, William Saliba was caught in two minds as Haaland surged in direction of objective, flanked by Gabriel, Declan Rice, and Martín Zubimendi.
Reijnders delivered the move on the good second, permitting Haaland to deftly contact the ball ahead and end with precision, bringing his tally to 13 objectives in eight matches for each Metropolis and Norway this season, in addition to his fifth in seven league video games in opposition to Arsenal.
In an obvious jibe geared toward Arteta, Metropolis’s social media account hailed Haaland as a “Finisher,” a time period the Arsenal supervisor had not too long ago used to commend Martinelli and Leandro Trossard for his or her impactful performances in opposition to Athletic Bilbao. Little did Metropolis know of Martinelli’s impending heroics.
As the primary half progressed, the house crowd grew more and more anxious, notably when Haaland capitalised on sloppy defending to arrange Reijnders for a shot from outdoors the field that was expertly saved by David Raya.
Though Arsenal struggled throughout the opening 45 minutes, they responded nicely in direction of the tip of the half, with Noni Madueke testing Donnarumma with a robust near-post effort—Arsenal’s solely shot heading in the right direction within the interval, as Metropolis maintained management.
In a bid to show the tide after the break, Arteta launched Bukayo Saka, returning after a month-long hamstring harm, alongside Eberechi Eze, changing Madueke and Mikel Merino.
