Gabriel Martinelli’s stoppage time strike salvages Arsenal a point after Haaland’s early opener

The Emirates was running on fumes. Arsenal had pushed, probed and prayed, but Manchester City’s defensive wall stood firm. Pep Guardiola had long abandoned his usual swagger, reshaping his side into a 5-4-1 blockade and urging them to dig in. It looked like the plan would work, until Gabriel Martinelli stepped off the bench to flip the script.

For most of the evening it felt like Erling Haaland’s ninth-minute strike would decide it. The Norwegian surged clear, finished with customary ruthlessness, and set the tone for what became City’s most uncharacteristic performance in years. They defended, and then defended some more. Incredibly, Guardiola’s side ended with just 32.8% possession — the lowest in any of his 601 top-flight games.

The visitors had their reasons. Thursday night’s Champions League exertions against Napoli left them heavy-legged, yet Guardiola bizarrely named an unchanged XI. By the second half, his stars looked drained. Arsenal sensed it.

Mikel Arteta, initially conservative in his approach, threw caution aside after the break. Off came Mikel Merino, on came Eberechi Eze. Bukayo Saka returned from injury to replace Noni Madueke, and suddenly there was urgency in the air. Eze fired a stinging half-volley at Gianluigi Donnarumma. Saka buzzed down the right. Martín Zubimendi tried his luck from range. The mood lifted.

City, though, almost killed the contest in the 57th minute. Haaland powered down the left, David Raya parried his shot, and Foden waited in vain for a square pass that never came. Guardiola responded with more defensive reinforcements: Nathan Aké for Foden, then — shockingly — Haaland withdrawn for Nico González. Doku was left to plough the lone striker role. The football purist had become the pragmatist.

By then the Emirates had grown restless. Arsenal probed but were shut out, City’s blue shirts lined up across the box like sandbags against a rising tide. Frustration was everywhere — on the pitch, in the stands, and especially in Arteta’s animated technical-area theatrics.

With minutes remaining, Arteta gambled everything. Martinelli was introduced, Timber sacrificed, and the shape shifted to 3-2-4-1. Ethan Nwaneri also joined the fray, tasked with threading passes through the narrowest of gaps. It looked desperate, until hope arrived.

In the dying embers, Eze lofted a pass behind the defence, perfectly weighted. Martinelli pounced, cushioning the ball with his first touch before, with the outside of his right boot, lifting it over Donnarumma and into the far corner. The finish was exquisite. The eruption inside the stadium was seismic.

Arteta sprinted and punched the air like a man released from torture. Martinelli disappeared under a pile of red shirts. Guardiola looked on, resigned, perhaps still stunned by how far his team had been pushed back.

The 1-1 draw leaves both sides glancing up at Liverpool, who remain the early beneficiaries in the title race. Arsenal may not have claimed the three points they wanted, but in rescuing one so late — against the champions no less — they gained a psychological lift. For City, it was two points lost and a performance unrecognisable from their usual fluency.

In the end, the night belonged to Martinelli. Fresh from making the difference in Bilbao midweek, the Brazilian once again emerged as Arsenal’s super-sub, proving that when the lights burn brightest and hope flickers dimmest, he can be the man to ignite it.