Declan Rice praised Martinelli’s impact off the bench

Arsenal managed to salvage a draw thanks to a goal from Gabriel Martinelli in the dying moments of the match against Manchester City. Midfielder Declan Rice was quick to highlight the importance of his Brazilian teammate after the match.

Rice described Martinelli's goal as ‘unbelievable’ and said that the London side deserved the result for their collective effort. "When you come off the bench, at that point of the game, 60, 70, 80 minutes, the game's a completely different game to the start of the game," he said.

"The game's opened up, it's more stretched, and for players like Gabi, they're unbelievable when they do start. But when they come on, their strength, which is their pace, their dribbling, helps them massively because there’s so much space, and in the end, that run and finish, was unbelievable," added Declan Rice.

The Brazilian came off the bench and took advantage of the spaces left by the opposition, showing his usual speed and determination in front of goal. Rice made it clear that the draw was not a fluke, but the result of the work done throughout the 90 minutes. "We fully deserved it," the England international said with conviction.