Arsenal make statement with long-awaited victory over City

Arteta's side had lost their previous 12 league meetings with Manchester City before Martinelli's 86th minute strike deflected off Nathan Ake to spark wild celebrations at the Emirates Stadium.

For the first time since December 2015, the Gunners could savour a victory over City and they embraced the moment amid jubilant scenes on the pitch and among the 60,000 sell-out crowd.

Arsenal had already beaten City on penalties in the Community Shield at Wembley in August, a success they celebrated with almost as much vigour as Sunday's.

But this was a far more important result, coming not in a glorified friendly but in the red-hot atmosphere of a crucial clash between the champions and their closest rivals last season.

Arsenal held an eight-point lead at the top of the table in April, only to collapse in the final furlong as City lifted a third successive title en route to an incredible treble. Rather than let the pain from that meltdown break them, Arteta and his players are using it as fuel to land the club's first title in 20 years.

It was instructive to see Arsenal tigerishly push City back in the closing stages of the second half as they searched for a winner with the champions appearing content with a point. Arsenal's hunger was rewarded and Arteta is convinced it could be a defining moment in their development.

"It's a great feeling. You could sense it. It's been so many years without beating them, but now we have beaten the best team in the world without a question of doubt," he said.

"We have done it in a great way because there were moments we had to suffer. It sends a message to our team to keep believing in what they are doing. I don't know if it was a barrier, but it was something we needed to go through.

"We lost in two different ways to them last season. But the team showed a real maturity today and that comes from experiences."

 

October 8, 2023