Gabriel Martinelli’s Arsenal’s goal in injury time scored them points in a 1-1 draw with Manchester City after an annoying match, but Gary Neville made the right points
Arsenal saved the points thanks to Gabriel Martinelli’s 93rd minute goal against Manchester City, but Gary Neville believes the goal ultimately benefited rival Liverpool. Martinelli came out of the bench to affect Sunday evening as City couldn’t stand the victory.
Erling Haaland moved the city forward early with a great counter attack target from the Tijjani Rejnders pass. Pep Guardiola tried to defend his one-goal lead on his side by making a defensive replacement, but the city was caught in a downtime as Ebeleti Eze sent Martinelli and he lobed Gianluigi Donnaruma.
After the second impact of Martinelli’s week, the home crowd erupted, following his goal, supporting the Champions League bench with the athletic club, but Neville had another take. “Gardiola shruggs – he’s going to win it 25-30 minutes after the end of the game and he decided he’s got very close,” he said on Sky Sports.
“But in the end there’s credit to Arsenal, Eze and Martinelli for that little glow, but those blue shirts are disappointing. It was a bit of a slugfest in the game, and a real struggle that neither helped. Liverpool could be the winner of this outcome.”
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Liverpool continued their perfect start to the season with a 2-1 victory over Everton in the Merseyside Derby on Saturday. Arne Slot’s side has scored 15 points from five games, with five points from second-placed Arsenal and Tottenham.
City, meanwhile, was ninth in the Premier League table, scoring just seven points from the opening five games. Guardiola’s side has been beaten by Tottenham and Brighton this season and was disappointed to give up such a slow equalizer.
Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice praised Martinelli for playing the role of Arteta’s “finish” from the bench, but he also noted a change in approach from the city. “We could feel a bit of frustration inside the stadium, obviously because we had a lot of the ball,” he told Sky Sports.
“But they defended really well. We might have had a chance or two in the first half. We knew we had to step on that in the second half, and we made two or three in the first five minutes.
“And then, seeing the end, they turned to a back five and went to a five. This I’d never seen before. They’re clearly trying to stick.
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