The shock for Arsenal. Thanks to a late goal from Gabriel Martinelli (86th), the Gunners got the better of Manchester City (1-0) this Sunday, during the clash of the eighth day of the Premier League. Prestigious victory for Mikel Arteta’s players, who are in third place in the “PL” ranking this Sunday, a small point behind City, second. The good deal for the leader, Tottenham.
At home and against the defending champion, we thought we would see the Gunners start this match on the floor. But harassed by constant and very well organized pressing from Guardiola’s men, they found themselves in difficulty. Raya was also very close to making a huge mistake on a short restart blocked by Haaland. Rice also saved his team on his line, following a volley from Gvardiol following a corner. Finally, Arteta’s men woke up and created a few opportunities, with strikes from Nketiah and Odegaard. This first act was also marred by an arbitration controversy following a (very) strong tackle by Kovacic on Odegaard’s ankle for which he only received a yellow. In the process, the former Chelsea player committed a new foul by tackling Rice’s ankle, without being sanctioned by the referee with a new card. At halftime, the two teams returned to the locker room at 11 against 11 and with a score of 0 to 0.
This second half was played for a long time in a false rhythm. Very few opportunities were to be had, on one side or the other. Before the opening score, only two shots on target had been counted. We therefore had to rely on entrants to make the difference. In the 85th minute, Partey sent a long pass to Tomyiasu. The latter intelligently saved for Havertz who passed on to Martinelli, returning from injury. The Brazilian winger turned into a scorer, his shot blocked by Aké leaving Ederson completely helpless. Arsenal won the Premier League against City for the first time since 2015, and will spend the break in second place but tied on points with leader Tottenham.
