Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is facing criticism about his Gunners plan on Sunday versus Manchester City, but he has Gabriel Martinelli to thank for a point at the Emirates Stadium.
Manchester City got the game’s first goal, and Arsenal looked en route to dropping six points against two of their three biggest perceived title rivals through just five weeks.
MORE — Arsenal 1-1 Man City recap, analysis, highlights
Arteta’s lineup looked a little defensive considering Arsenal had two further days’ rest than City, and the challenge was strengthened twice — once when Erling Haaland scored to put City in front and again when Pep Guardiola went defense-heavy in the latter stages.
But Eberechi Eze sent Martinelli to the top of the 18 and a lobbed finish over Gianluigi Donnarumma three minutes’ deep in stoppage time.
How did Mikel Arteta view the loss? Read on...
Mikel Arteta postmatch reaction to Arsenal vs Manchester City
Happy with your performance? “At the very least. I’m so proud of my players. The feeling is very disappointed not to win the game.
Gave away rare goal in open play: “They had five against two, a scramble on the ball. In that moment, Haaland in a split second is running 3v2. They attacked the space and overloaded in a great way. We were in the top end of the pitch, we crossed the ball, a lot of things had to happen.”
Could’ve played better in first half? “I think we played better than last year when we beat them. Much better.”
Overall thoughts: “I’m very proud of my team the way we played and dominated them. I’m very disappointed with the result. ... We started so well, we were in their half and didn’t allow them to breathe but in one action they are in the spaces and they are lethal there. After that we had our five shaky minutes. Then we completely dominated them again.”
What did you say at halftime? “Let’s continue to do the good things we’re doing, reset mentally, because the game was there for the taking.”
Declan Rice, Gabriel Martinelli react to Arsenal’s late draw versus Man City
Declan Rice
How big was that equalizer? “Massive. Ever since I’ve come to the club and even before that [Martinelli] has delivered big moments. The amount of times he scores in big games for us. A lot of players could sulk to be on the bench. But the run and goal. We dominated today. We just couldn’t break them down until this guy produced a moment of magic.”
Surprised to see City hunker down? “We’ve gained the respect of the opposition. They know what we have from back to front. We thoroughly deserved a goal. If we had come away losing the game we would’ve been disappointed. A point is probably fair.
What was said at halftime? “I could sense a bit of frustration inside the stadium because we had so much of the ball. The message at halftime was to keep going, keep pushing, and to overload them. At the end they switched to a back five which I’d never seen them do.
Gabriel Martinelli
On keeping good attitude as a sub: “These are the moments that I work for. We played really well. It was a great ball from Ebs and I just tried to put it in the back of the net. We need to work more cause we want to win those games as well.
Talk about the goal: “With the players that we have, Dec, Martin, Ebs, Merino, I know if I make those runs, I had like three in the game, I’ll have at least one.”
