Arsenal ended their 12-run successive loss to Manchester City in the Premier League thanks to Gabriel Martinelli’s lone goal at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
It was a game of chess and checkers from mangers Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola as their men carefully calculated their moves and kept their shape, even with the changes in personnel when the match progressed.
But after losing all his managerial meetings with Guardiola, it was Arteta who came out victorious! Arteta’s men had to be patient in their approach to the game knowing well that Man City could punish them at any time.
Their patience paid off in the 86th minute when second-half substitute Martinelli’s strike at the edge of the box deflected off Nathan Ake to make way to the bottom-left corner for the goal.
The goal proved Arteta’s game reading was spot on as all three substitutes Thomas Partey, Takehiro Tomiyasu, and Kai Havertz combined in the build-up for it.
Before the goal, Man City had several chances especially in the first half through Nathan Ake and Julian Alvarez but failed to convert.
Arsenal’s defense worked hard to keep danger-man Erling Haaland at bay the entire match. They only allowed him a short on target that never bothered the Gunner’s goalkeeper David Raya.
This was just the second match Haaland had managed one shot on target since his move to the Premier League last season.
After a run of 15 games without a victory in this fixture (D2 L13) and losing each of the last 12 in a row, Arsenal beat Manchester City in the Premier League for the first time since December 2015.
Arteta will now have better sleep going into the international break, having registered his first Premier League win over his former boss Guardiola in a tale of student beats master.
Guardiola’s men have now lost two consecutive games in the Premier League for the first time since December 2018 when they lost to Crystal Palace and Leicester.
The win means Arsenal go second in the table, level on points (20) with North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, who are one goal better than the Gunners.
