 | « Back to article | Print this article |
Substitute Martinelli fires Arsenal to victory
Substitute Gabriel Martinelli fired a last-gasp winner to earn Arsenal a 1-0 victory over Manchester City on Sunday, a result that moved Mikel Arteta's side level on points with North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur at the top of the Premier League.
Arsenal came into the match having not beaten City in the league since 2015, a run of 15 games -- their longest winless streak against a single opponent in league history.
Ending such a barren run looked unlikely as City had the better of the chances in the first half, with Arsenal's Declan Rice clearing off the line to keep the champions at bay.
Arsenal did not have a single shot on target in the opening period, but upped the tempo after the break, even though City still created the better openings despite their Premier League top scorer Erling Haaland being kept quiet all afternoon.
The game appeared to be edging towards a stalemate before Martinelli struck four minutes from time, a deflection off City defender Nathan Ake taking the ball past keeper Ederson.
The goal sparked wild celebrations at the Emirates, as Arsenal moved above City into second place on 20 points, two above the champions, and trailing Spurs only on goals scored.
Arsenal were dealt a huge blow ahead of kickoff as it was confirmed the injured Bukayo Saka would miss a Premier League game for the first time since May 2021, ending a run of 87 consecutive appearances, the longest ongoing run in the competition.
Without the flying forward, Arsenal looked sluggish early on, with Croatian defender Josko Gvardiol denied by Rice's intervention, while Julian Alvarez almost diverted Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya's hesitant clearance into the net.
The crowd were doing their best to rouse a response from Arsenal, cheering every flying tackle with gusto and it seemed to help matters, with the hosts growing into the contest.
Promising openings fell flat, however, as Arsenal failed to have a shot on target in the opening half of a Premier League home game for the first time since March 2022.
Martinelli's introduction livened things up, as he soon had the home side's first effort on target in the match, a fierce strike straight at Ederson.
With the international break to follow, the life seemed to be sucked out of the game before Martinelli broke City hearts.
It was a timely strike, ensuring Arsenal are yet to lose a Premier League game this season, last going on a longer unbeaten run to start a campaign in 2007-08.
Brighton fight back to draw with Liverpool
Brighton & Hove Albion captain Lewis Dunk scored with a deft volley to cancel out Mohamed Salah's brace for Liverpool as the Seagulls came from behind to grab a 2-2 draw in the Premier League on Sunday.
The home side took the lead in the 20th minute when Simon Adingra picked the pocket of former Brighton midfielder Alexis Mac Allister and fired home, but Salah levelled in the 40th minute, ending a flowing move with a trademark left-foot finish.
The Egyptian gave his side the lead from the penalty spot in first-half stoppage time after Dominik Szoboszlai was pulled down by Pascal Gross, and Salah struck his shot to the left of keeper Bart Verbruggen.
Substitute Ryan Gravenberch, who came on for Harvey Elliott at halftime, missed a golden chance to put Liverpool two up in the 54th minute when his close-range effort from Szoboszlai's pass cannoned back off the crossbar.
Dutchman Gravenberch, who signed for Liverpool from Bayern Munich on the last day of the transfer window, made another fine chance in the 65th minute, but his shot lacked power and was easily saved.
Brighton had their chances in the second half and they howled for a penalty in the 69th minute as Kaoru Mitoma cut in from the right and unleashed a shot which they claimed hit the arm of Virgil van Dijk, but the referee disagreed.
Brighton forced an equaliser in the 78th minute when Andy Robertson decided against trying to clear Solli March's free kick, allowing defender Dunk to volley home.
If Gravenberch's miss was bad, Joao Pedro's for Brighton in the 84th minute was arguably worse as he failed to hit the target from close range with the goal at his mercy, but the hosts held on for the draw to stay sixth in the table on 16 points, one behind fourth-placed Liverpool.
"I think we were the better side throughout and then we had a funny five minutes," England international Dunk said. "We have got to be better than that. We have shown great character to come back and get the draw."
Liverpool captain Van Dijk said his side were disappointed not to take all three points.
"We came here to win. I think we had opportunities to do so and in the end a draw, after a difficult game. Quite open at times. Quite even but looking at our team, we had opportunities to win," he said.
