Martinelli breaks City resistance at the death as tense Emirates chess match ends level

Gabriel Martinelli came off the bench to conjure a 93rd‑minute equaliser and pull Arsenal level with Manchester City in a gripping 1-1 draw at the Emirates. Erling Haaland’s ninth‑minute strike had stood for almost the entire afternoon, the champions retreating into a stubborn defensive shell and inviting pressure that Mikel Arteta’s side, for long stretches, struggled to turn into clear chances.

Arteta’s finishers changed the tone. The half‑time introductions of Eberechi Eze and Bukayo Saka lifted the tempo, and while Pep Guardiola switched to a rare back five and later withdrew Haaland to close the game down, Arsenal kept asking questions. When Eze finally lifted a pass in behind, Martinelli’s first touch and outside‑of‑the‑boot finish over Gianluigi Donnarumma delivered a finale of bedlam and, ultimately, a point that felt hard‑earned.

A ruthless break, then a siege

City struck early with precision. Haaland won the ball in his own half, accelerated into space and combined with the galloping Tijjani Reijnders before rolling a low finish past David Raya. It was a counter executed at speed and with minimal fuss, the kind of moment that has underpinned Haaland’s relentless scoring run.

For much of the first half, Guardiola’s team pressed high and forced errors, Reijnders drawing a low save from Raya after another turnover. Arsenal had a handful of corners and a near‑post effort from Noni Madueke that Donnarumma clawed away, but the home crowd’s frustration built as clear openings proved elusive.

Arteta’s ‘finishers’ tilt the balance

Arteta acted at the interval. Eze replaced Mikel Merino and Saka returned from a hamstring issue to take Madueke’s place. The effect was immediate: Arsenal’s tempo rose, the press bit harder, and the stadium responded. Martin Zubimendi swept one effort over from the edge of the box and Eze stung Donnarumma’s gloves with a rasping half‑volley.

City, though, remained dangerous on transition through Jérémy Doku. The game’s hinge arrived on 57 minutes when Doku released Haaland up the inside-left channel with Phil Foden square for a tap‑in; Haaland went alone and Raya blocked. It felt decisive, because from there Arsenal’s territorial grip tightened.

Guardiola trades style for steel

Guardiola leaned into pragmatism. Nathan Ake replaced Foden and City flipped to a back five, a posture of resistance that became even more pronounced when holding midfielder Nico Gonzalez came on for Haaland and Doku shuffled into the central role. By the finish, City had only 32.8% of the ball — the lowest share for a Guardiola team in 601 top‑flight games — but they had the lead they wanted to protect.

The champions’ approach owed plenty to context. They had played Napoli in the Champions League on Thursday and looked leggy; Guardiola named an unchanged XI and then dug in. For Arsenal it became attack versus defence, lanes flooded with blue shirts and little room for the final pass — until, with stoppage time ebbing away, Eze saw something different.

Martinelli, again, from the bench

Eze, deep in his own half, spotted Martinelli darting behind a sagging line and sent a lob perfectly weighted into the space. Martinelli’s first touch set the angle; with the outside of his right boot, he lifted the ball up and over Donnarumma and down into the far corner. It was a finish of pure nerve in a moment of maximum pressure.

The Brazilian’s late strike echoed his impact in Bilbao five days earlier, when he scored and assisted off the bench in the Champions League, and had shades of his substitute winner against City in October 2023. Arteta has been vocal about the value of his “finishers”; here, they rescued a point.

Voices and implications

Declan Rice lauded Martinelli’s composure, calling him a player who “always delivers in big moments.” Arteta struck a similar tone, saying he was proud of how Arsenal “dominated” much of the game but disappointed with the result. Pundit Jamie Carragher, meanwhile, flagged a lingering concern about Arsenal’s lack of incision in open play despite their territorial control.

Guardiola described the draw as fair and admitted Arsenal were the better side on the day, pointing to the week’s schedule and injuries. The upshot leaves both teams feeling they left something out there — with Liverpool the clear beneficiaries — even as Arteta extended his unbeaten run against Guardiola to five matches.