Gabriel Martinelli scored a 93rd-minute equaliser as Manchester City held Arsenal to a 1-1 draw and Gary Neville has given his brutal assessment
Arsenal snatched a dramatic point courtesy of Gabriel Martinelli’s 93rd-minute equaliser against Manchester City – but Gary Neville reckons the result was a massive boost for their biggest rival.
Martinelli emerged from the substitutes’ bench to deliver a crucial blow on Sunday evening as City couldn’t see out what seemed like a certain victory. Erling Haaland had fired City into an early lead with a sublime counter-attacking strike following Tijjani Reijnders’ clever pass, as the two Premier League giants went head-to-head.
Pep Guardiola attempted to preserve his team’s slender advantage by bringing on defensive reinforcements, yet City were undone in added time when Eberechi Eze threaded Martinelli through and the Brazilian dinked over Gianluigi Donnarumma. The Emirates erupted following Martinelli’s second decisive intervention of the week, after his goal and assist from the bench in the Champions League clash with Athletic Club, reports the Mirror.
However, former Manchester United and England defender turned Sky Sports pundit Neville offered a contrasting perspective on the drama and what it means for the Premier League title race as both teams try to catch champions Liverpool.
He said: “Guardiola shrugs his shoulders – he decided 25-30 minutes out from the end of the game how he was going to win it and he got so close.
“But credit to Arsenal, Eze and Martinelli for that bit of brilliance at the end, but those blue shirts will be disappointed. It was a bit of a slugfest of a game, a real struggle that will not help either of them. Liverpool maybe the winners of this result.”
Table toppers Liverpool maintained their flawless campaign start with a 2-1 triumph over Everton in Saturday’s Merseyside Derby – putting the Merseysiders in the box seat in the title race.
Arne Slot’s outfit have amassed 15 points from five matches and sit five points clear of second-placed Arsenal and Tottenham, who both have 10 points. Manchester City, currently sitting in ninth place in the Premier League table, have had a rocky start to the season, managing only seven points from their first five matches.
The former champions have suffered defeats at the hands of Tottenham and Brighton, and were left reeling after conceding a late equaliser.
Arsenal’s Declan Rice was quick to commend his team-mate Martinelli, who stepped up as Arteta’s “finisher” off the bench.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Rice noted a shift in City’s tactics. He said: “I could sense a bit of frustration inside the stadium, obviously, because we were having so much of the ball.
“But again, they defended really well. We may have had one or two chances in the first half, and we knew in the second half we had to step on it. And within the first five minutes, we created two or three. So the message at half time was to keep going, keep pushing, keep overloading them.”
Rice also observed a tactical switch from City towards the end of the match. He noted: “And seeing the end, they changed to a back five, went to five, which I’ve never seen them do, and they’re obviously trying to hang on, so obviously to get them with draw at the end was good for us.”
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