Izuchukwu Okosi
Gabriel Martinelli’s deflected effort was the difference at the Emirates stadium Sunday evening as Arsenal ended a run of 12 successive defeats in the hands of Premier League champions, Manchester City.
The Gunners have not won in the fixture since 2015 when manager Mikel Arteta was still a player at the club but had achieved some wins in the FA Cup and recently in the Community Shield at the expense of City.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelIt was a stalemate at the Emirates stadium at half time but the home side got the deserved goal after an improved second half as an 86th minute shot from substitute Gabriel Martinelli deflected off Nathan Ake.
Arsenal’s 12-match losing streak against City in the league was the longest against any opponent in the club’s history.
City, meanwhile has fallen to consecutive league losses for the first time since 2018 after a 2-1 defeat at Wolves last weekend.
Arsenal and Tottenham now lead the standings on 20 points from eight games, with City two points behind in third albeit Spurs are atop due to head-to-head rules following the 2-2 draw in the north London derby.
Before the Martinelli goal, it was a cagey affair as both sides failed to convert most of their chances.
City were without influential duo of Kevin de Bruyne (injury) and Rodri (suspension) while Arsenal’s manager Arteta refused to risk recuperating forward Bukayo Saka.
Saka watched from the stands and it marked the first time on 88 matches dating back to 2021 that he would miss a club game for the three-time English champions.
The players will head to the international break with Arsenal facing Chelsea on October 21 when they return from national teams’ assignments.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
