09 October 2023 , 13:02
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Gabriel Martinelli insists Arsenal have even more belief they can overhaul Manchester City as champions.
No-one should underestimate the significance of Mikel Arteta finally overcoming his Pep Guardiola hoodoo and Arsenal striking a huge psychological blow in the title race. City had undoubtedly got a stronghold over Arsenal because they had won their previous 12 Premier League encounters in the Premier League.
And there were some proper thrashings and humiliations in there as well and those sort of heavy defeats often place doubts in players’ minds. Martinelli insisted that Arsenal always believed but the reality is that it looked like some of the players did have a mental block whenever they played City.
They would go to the Etihad fearing the worst. And even be intimidated when Guardiola’s men came to the Emirates. That even showed in the opening stages of Arsenal’s ground-breaking win over City because Arteta’s men started nervously, they looked anxious and in awe of the champions.
But, as Martinelli alludes to, in that game Arsenal discovered that City are human after all and can be beaten. That result has strengthened Martinelli’s belief and that that will be the case for this season’s title race as well.
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Last season, Arsenal went so close, led for so long but ultimately buckled as City were always there in the background and that can be a frightening prospect. Now Arsenal can truly believe they have the beating of City and get results against them when they need it most.
Gabriel Martinelli was the hero for Arsenal against Manchester City (Getty Images)HAVE YOUR SAY! Will Arsenal win the Premier League title? Comment below.
Even without playing at their best, Arsenal had the mentality of champions because they kept going, they never gave up and eventually got the result. It was Brazil star Martinelli who got the late winner and his deflected effort is also a huge shot in the arm for Arsenal’s title hopes this season.
Martinelli said: “It was a great win. We know how hard it is to play against them. It was a great performance from the team. Of course it gives us more belief. We are Arsenal and we are always believing about the title. To win against a big side like them is great. We just need to carry on.
“It's always good to win against the big teams and we did it. I'm so happy. When you play for Arsenal you have to always believe and this is what we do. We play for Arsenal and we always believe we can win titles. It's another year, we're going to try to improve things, do better than last year. But I think we are stronger this year, we have a great team and it's important to have a lot of options.”
Martinelli was only a half time substitute and yet his pace down the left flank was crucial to Arsenal’s win and helped change the course of the game. He was rushed back after a hamstring injury suffered at Everton last month with hardly any training but, with Bukayo Saka also out, it was crucial for Arsenal.
It was a torturous time for Martienlli but he insisted it was “special” to be back as he also claimed the team wanted to beat City not just for the fans, but also for Saka who missed a game for the first time in 87 consecutive Premier League appearances. Martinelli added: “Yeah, it was a special day for me. I tried my best really hard to be back with the team and it was a great win.
“We know our potential. We know how important Bukayo is for us. We know his potential. But we did our best, we tried to win the game for our fans, for us and for Bukayo as well.”