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When the deadlock seemed impossible to break, Gabriel Martinelli suddenly stepped out of the shadows.
Mikel Arteta has been waiting an eternity for this day, to see his Arsenal defeat the teacher Pep Guardiola.
It puts Manchester City in an uncomfortable position that the players are hardly used to.
In the stands of The Emirates, Bukayo Saka raised his arms in the air. It was the first time in 2.5 years that the winger had missed a Premier League game, breaking a streak of 87 games and a heavy spell for Arsenal.
It was such an upheaval that Gabriel Martinelli’s presence was almost forgotten. The young brass sat on the bench, unexpectedly early after his injury. He was the one coach Mikel Arteta turned to in the break at 0-0 to revive the match.
Guts said that one measly moment of lapse in concentration would separate these teams, breaking the stalemate that had been created.
In the end, Arteta’s switch paid off. It was Martinelli who was behind the winning goal, a hugely significant hit judging by how the relief spread across the arena and above all Arsenal’s technical area.
Pep Guardiola’s Man City have been a corner in Mikel Arteta’s side since he left the club to return to London.
Now he has finally broken free from his former teacher.
fullscreen Photo: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images
Three shooting stars
Considering the dignity of the meeting, it was sad that three of the biggest stars were missing.
Apart from Bukayo Saka, Manchester City were missing perhaps their most fundamental players, Kevin de Bruyne and suspended Rodri. Especially the latter, Guardiola has found it desperately difficult to replace.
There was a noticeable amount of nervousness in the air around The Emirates and there were probably plenty of butterflies in a few stomachs down on the pitch.
Goalkeeper David Raya, who appears to have cemented his place, hardly exuded composure and was scrambling for it on several occasions early on.
Luckily for the Spaniard, the centre-back pair of William Saliba and Gabriel put in possibly their best performance of the season.
Kovacic was lucky
The half-time discussion could have focused on the team’s inability to find sharpness in the final third, or Bernardo Silva’s new role as a sitting midfielder.
Instead, most of the talk – tiringly enough – was once again about verdicts and VAR.
First of all, one wonders what midfielder Mateo Kovacic was thinking when he chose to slide tackle Declan Rice just minutes after giving Arsenal captain Martin Ödegaard similar treatment, resulting in a yellow card.
A worse brain drain had not been seen since, yes, yesterday when Yves Bissouma filmed at the feet of the referee just over ten minutes after being awarded his first caution in Tottenham’s meeting with Luton.
full screen Photo: Stella Pictures / Pa
The difference? Partly, that Kovacic’s actions were significantly cruder (especially the tackle on Ödegaard) and that he was allowed to remain on the field. One wonders what Liverpool’s Curtis Jones did last weekend that was so much worse than this, getting himself into a situation with Bissouma in particular.
3–4 contenders
However, Kovacic was not on the field when Martinelli pulled off his finish, which dived into the goal via Nathan Aké.
It had been a long time since Arteta was so palpably full of joy, while both Kyle Walker and Haaland (mostly invisible during the meeting) were highly irritated by something long after the final whistle.
Manchester City are not used to being in this position, losing two league games in a row. Right now, Guardiola’s team is third in the table, two points behind Arsenal and Tottenham.
Before the season, there was mainly talk of a duel between two contenders, but maybe we have to let go of that scenario. A look at this year’s edition of the Premier League says that 3-4 teams could possibly mix in the top fight: Man City, Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool.
They all have their strengths and weaknesses, and Rodri is back after the international break and will immediately stabilize the big favorite Manchester City.
Until then, Arsenal will take the opportunity to enjoy having put the reigning champions in place, after many valiant attempts since December 2016. That they also managed to achieve this without their most important player is another feather in their cap.
2023-10-08 18:11:15
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