Gabriel Martinelli came off the bench and scored a 93rd-minute equaliser to salvage a 1-1 draw for Arsenal against Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium.
City appeared to be on the brink of victory thanks to Erling Haaland’s brilliant breakaway goal in the ninth minute but Martinelli looped a superb finish over Gianluigi Donnarumma after latching onto Eberechi Eze’s pass to spark wild celebrations.
It came five days after the Brazilian made a similarly important impact from the bench in Arsenal’s 2-0 win over Athletic Club, when he scored one goal and set up the other, and his strike bore similarities to his winner as a substitute against City in October 2023.
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The goal ensured Arsenal are five points behind leaders Liverpool, rather than six, and came after they had struggled to carve out chances for long periods despite City having just 32.8 per cent possession, a record-low under Pep Guardiola.
Player ratings
Arsenal: Raya (6), Timber (7), Saliba (7), Gabriel (6), Calafiori (6), Zubimendi (7), Rice (6), Merino (5), Madueke (7), Trossard (6), Gyokeres (5).
Subs: Saka (7), Eze (7), Martinelli (8), Nwaneri (6).
Man City: Donnarumma (6), Khusanov (7), Dias (6), Gvardiol (7), O’Reilly (7), Rodri (7), Bernardo (6), Reijnders (7), Foden (6), Doku (7), Haaland (8).
Subs: Nunes (6), Ake (6), Gonzalez (6), Stones (6), Savinho (6).
Player of the match: Erling Haaland
Haaland’s goal, when he started and finished a devastating counter after combining with Tijjani Reijnders, made it three in as many games for the striker against Arsenal and 19 in his last 15 appearances in all competitions. It also gave City a vital foothold.
Arsenal’s only real chance of a poor first half came when Noni Madueke forced a near-post save from Donnarumma but they improved with the half-time introductions of Eze and the returning Bukayo Saka.
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Eze went close to a leveller soon after coming on, forcing a sharp save from Donnarumma with a rasping drive, but City looked comfortable after weathering that period of Arsenal pressure with some resolute defending.
Guardiola took the uncharacteristic step of moving to a back five after introducing Nathan Ake for Phil Foden and it seemed they were going to secure a win to put them level on points with the Gunners. But Martinelli had the final say.
Rice: Martinelli always delivers in big moments
Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice told Sky Sports: “Since I’ve come to the club, even before I’ve come – he [Martinelli] has always delivered in big moments. The amount of times he’s scoring in big games for us.
“A lot of players can talk if they get put on the bench but every time he comes in, he shows his desire.
“The run and finish – it’s unbelievable at that stage of the game. To have that composure, he really deserves it.
“So even though we didn’t win, I thought we finally deserved it because we dominated today and played really, really well.
“We just couldn’t break them down. Fair play to them. But Martinelli, he’s come on and produced a moment of magic. So we’re happy with that.”
