IN GALLERY : PLAYER OF THE MATCH – WILLIAM SALIBA ARSENAL AGAINST MAN CITY TODAY : 100% DUELS WON 97% PASS ACCURACY 0 FOULS COMMITTED WASN’T DRIBBLED PAST ONCE

William Saliba

has not been dribbled past in his eight Premier League appearances in 2023/24.

And he’s committed just two fouls all season.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH – WILLIAM SALIBA (ARSENAL)
Got the better of Erling Haaland in a number of one-on-one duels and looked assured on the ball as well, which could not be said for all of his team-mates. Haaland took zero shots, which reflects how well Arsenal and in particular Saliba marshalled him.

PLAYER RATINGS

Arsenal: Raya 4, White 5, Saliba 8*, Gabriel 7, Zinchenko 7, Rice 5, Jorginho 6, Odegaard 5, Trossard 5, Jesus 6, Nketiah 5. Subs: Martinelli 7, Partey 6, Tomiyasu 6, Havertz 6.
Man City: Ederson 6, Walker 6, Dias 6, Ake 6, Gvardiol 6, Kovacic 4, Lewis 6, Bernardo 5, Foden 5, Alvarez 5, Haaland 5. Subs: Nunes 5, Doku 5, Stones 6.

Match report and highlights as sub Martinelli secures late win for Arsenal over Man City; Gunners go level on points with Tottenham at top of Premier League, City in third two points back; Mateo Kovacic fortunate to avoid first-half red

Gabriel Martinelli stepped off the bench and slammed in a late winner for Arsenal as they beat Premier League title rivals Manchester City 1-0 at a euphoric Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

The brilliant Brazilian winger had missed the last five matches with injury but gave Arsenal added impetus when he came on at half-time – and then grabbed a dramatic clincher with just four minutes of normal time remaining. A perfect moment to score his first league goal of the season.

Kai Havertz set the ball back and Martinelli fired at goal. A deflection off Nathan Ake did for Ederson and secured a first win for Arsenal over Manchester City in the league since December 2015. Their terrible streak in the league against City had seen them lose the last 12 – but could this be a historic victory in the race for this season’s crown?

FTFull Time
Arsenal vs Manchester City. Premier League.
4:30pm, Sunday 8th October 2023.

Emirates StadiumAttendance: Attendance60,233.

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Match report and highlights as sub Martinelli secures late win for Arsenal over Man City; Gunners go level on points with Tottenham at top of Premier League, City in third two points back; Mateo Kovacic fortunate to avoid first-half red

Peter Smith
Senior Football Journalist @psmithXI

Sunday 8 October 2023 18:57, UK

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FREE TO WATCH: Highlights of Arsenal against Manchester City in the Premier League
Gabriel Martinelli stepped off the bench and slammed in a late winner for Arsenal as they beat Premier League title rivals Manchester City 1-0 at a euphoric Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

The brilliant Brazilian winger had missed the last five matches with injury but gave Arsenal added impetus when he came on at half-time – and then grabbed a dramatic clincher with just four minutes of normal time remaining. A perfect moment to score his first league goal of the season.

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Kai Havertz set the ball back and Martinelli fired at goal. A deflection off Nathan Ake did for Ederson and secured a first win for Arsenal over Manchester City in the league since December 2015. Their terrible streak in the league against City had seen them lose the last 12 – but could this be a historic victory in the race for this season’s crown?

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Gabriel Martinelli’s deflected strike gives Arsenal a late 1-0 lead over Manchester City
Arsenal – nervy in the early stages – were badly missing injured talisman Bukayo Saka for much of this contest but Martinelli stepped up and delivered a huge blow. The unbeaten Gunners go into the international break level on points with neighbours Tottenham at the top of the table.

As for Man City, they are just two points back but consecutive league defeats for the first time in five years suggests the treble holders may be more vulnerable than in previous campaigns. They’ve now lost in both the Community Shield and Premier League to Arsenal and were far from their fluid best here.

Declan Rice had to clear an early Josko Gvardiol shot off the line but City created little else. They will hope to go up a gear when they get injured Kevin De Bruyne and suspended Rodri back.

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Arsenal will see the result as justice delivered after Mateo Kovacic somehow avoided a red card in the first-half. He was shown a yellow card for a tackle which saw his studs collide with Martin Odegaard’s ankle and then received no further punishment for a similar foul on Declan Rice six minutes later.

AlsoManchester City midfielder Mateo Kovacic avoids being sent off following two fouls in quick succession against Arsenal
That decision seemed set to be the major talking point from a tense afternoon in north London. But Martinelli changed the narrative and fired-up Arsenal’s Premier League title dream.

Arsenal’s winning moment…
How Arsenal won the huge clash…
These two sides have been the great entertainers of recent times but there were just three shots on target between them over the 90 minutes. City managed just four shots in total, the fewest by a Pep Guardiola side in 13 years.

It was cagey. It was anxious. It was on a knife-edge throughout.

The pressure was plain to see early on from the home side, with Arsenal shaky in the opening minutes. Goalkeeper David Raya mis-placed passes. He needed Rice to rescue him when he got caught under a corner and then had a let-off when Julian Alvarez charged his clearance into the side-netting.

Team news
Injured Bukayo Saka was the high-profile absentee for Arsenal, who had Gabriel Jesus and Leandro Trossard in attack either side of Eddie Nketiah. Gabriel Martinelli and Thomas Partey were only fit enough for the bench. Jorginho came in for Kai Havertz.
Man City made three changes from their Champions League win in midweek, with Mateo Kovacic starting in place of the suspended Rodri, and Julian Alvarez and Nathan Ake came in for Jack Grealish and Manuel Akanji.
The Spaniard – at fault for a Champions League goal conceded in midweek – was nervous and that feeling was transmitted around the stadium.

The fine margins of this contest put even more weight on the controversial moments of the first half, when Kovacic twice survived a sending off.

The past week had been filled with debate and discussion about VAR and match officials and they were back in the spotlight in this huge clash.

Croatian Kovacic caught Odegaard on the ankle with his studs just before the half-hour mark, with a VAR check upholding the yellow card he’d been shown by ref Michael Oliver. Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville labelled it an “orange” and described the challenge as a “bad one”.

Just six minutes later, Kovacic made a similar tackle on Rice but Oliver immediately gestured he would not be showing a second yellow for the foul. “He should be off,” said Neville. Arteta was incredulous in the Arsenal dugout.

Martinelli, on at half-time for Leandro Trossard, boosted Arsenal. With some forward thrust they were able to get more of a foothold and it was the sub who had their first shot on target 50 minutes in.

Oleksandr Zinchenko shot off target and Gabriel Jesus caused problems coming in off the right. But for all of Arsenal’s probing City looked impenetrable. At the other end, the visitors were badly lacking their usual fluidity themselves. A goalless draw beckoned.

But Martinelli – with a big helping hand from the deflection off Ake – stole the show and grabbed maximum points for an Arsenal side who will believe they can go one better than last season now.