Gabriel Martinelli says Arsenal’s inherent belief will only be boosted by beating champions Manchester City as Mikel Arteta’s men look to go one step further than last season.
The Gunners captured the imagination during a strong 2022-23 campaign, only to ultimately finish second as Pep Guardiola’s side scooped a third straight title in a storming end to the season.
Arsenal’s inability to take a point off them was key in them finishing second and Sunday saw them finally beat City in the league for the first time since 2015, building on their Community Shield shoot-out triumph against the treble winners.
The half-time introduction of Martinelli after three weeks out with a hamstring injury proved inspired, adding extra impetus to the attack before eventually hitting a late winner that deflected in off Nathan Ake to seal a 1-0 victory.
“We know how hard it is to play against them,” the Brazil international said. “It was a great performance from the team and a great win.
“Of course (it gives us more belief we can win this season’s title). We are Arsenal and we are always believing about the title.
“To win against a big side like them is great and we just need to carry on.
“A special day for me. I tried my best, really hard, to be back with the team and it was a great moment for me.
“It’s always good to win against the big teams and we did it today. I’m so happy.”
Arsenal remain unbeaten eight league matches into the season and are level in terms of points and goal difference with leaders Tottenham, with their bitter rivals only ahead on goals scored.
“When you play for Arsenal you have to always believe and this is what we do,” Martinelli said as they look to bring the Premier League title back to north London for the first time since 2004.
“We play for Arsenal and we always believe we can win the titles.
“It’s another year. We’re going to try to improve things and try to do better than last year.
“Yeah, I think (there is more depth). We have a great team and it’s important to have a lot of options.”
Sunday’s victory win was made all the more impressive by the fact Arsenal’s star man Bukayo Saka was missing, with a muscle injury ending his run of 87 successive Premier League appearances.
“We know our potential,” Martinelli said. “We know his potential and how important he is for us.
“Today we did our best, tried to win the game for our fans, for us and for B as well.”
Arsenal return to action at Chelsea after the international break, while wounded City look to get their title defence back on track at home to Brighton.
Guardiola’s men have lost three of their last four matches in all competitions, including back-to-back Premier League matches for the first time since December 2018.
City midfielder Bernardo Silva said: “It’s a setback but it’s still the beginning. We’re far away from the end of the season.
“It was not the result we wanted. Against a tough opponent it is never easy to play.
“We felt the game was tough for both teams. Both are tough and organised and tense. We had a few chances in the beginning.
“In the end it was a deflection. In my opinion we gave them too much time to think at that moment. We have to be more intense in the pressing.
“It is what it is. It’s part of football and we move onto the next one.”
City struggled to lay a glove on an Arsenal side that they had beaten in 12 consecutive Premier League meetings before Sunday.
Guardiola’s men mustered a mere four shots at the Emirates Stadium, but Silva is not getting carried away with the loss or the recent drop off.
“Some of these results we were not expecting and we didn’t want them to happen,” he told club media.
“Last season we won the treble but there was a point that nothing was going our way.
“How you overcome these moments is what defines the team and we will keep fighting for all the games. We’re going for it again.”
Europa Conference League: Aston Villa stunned by Olympiacos
Aston Villa were stunned by Olympiacos as they suffered a 4-2 home defeat in the Europa Conference League.
On what the Villa faithful hoped would be a famous night at Villa Park, they instead saw their team dispatched by their Greek opponents in the first leg of their semi-final encounter.
Ayoub El Kaabi scored a hat-trick for the visitors, who were 2-0 up inside 30 minutes on Thursday.
Ollie Watkins and Moussa Diaby struck either side of the interval to restore parity, but El Kaabi sealed his hat-trick from the penalty spot before Santiago Hezze added further gloss with a sensational finish. To add to Villa's misery, Douglas Luiz then missed a penalty late on.
In the other semi-final tie, Fiorentina took a 3-2 aggregate lead against Club Brugge.
M'Bala Nzola was Fiorentina's hero in stoppage time, scoring in the 91st minute to nudge the Serie A team ahead.
Hans Vanaken had scored from a penalty following a VAR check for handball in the 17th minute, cancelling out Riccardo Sottil's early opener, though Fiorentina restored their lead through Andrea Belotti before half-time in a frantic first half.
Thiago equalised for Brugge, but it was ultimately not enough.
Europa League: Wirtz and Andrich goals put Leverkusen on the brink, Marseille hold Atalanta
Bayer Leverkusen put one foot in the Europa League final as Florian Wirtz and Robert Andrich scored in Thursday's 2-0 semi-final first-leg win over Roma at the Stadio Olimpico.
Roma were masters of their own downfall as Wirtz opened the scoring after 28 minutes, Rick Karsdorp's horrible error allowing Alex Grimaldo to race into the area and tee up Wirtz to finish into an unguarded net.
Though Daniele De Rossi's hosts improved after the break, Andrich added a spectacular second with 73 minutes on the clock, the midfielder giving Mile Svilar no chance as he side-footed into the top-left corner from 25 yards out.
Roma should have pulled one back four minutes into stoppage time, but Tammy Abraham could only nod over from inside the six-yard box after a goalmouth scramble, and they now have it all to do in next week's second leg.
Leverkusen's unbeaten run for 2023-24 stands at 47 games across all competitions (39 wins, eight draws), and they are now overwhelming favourites to stamp their ticket to the final in Dublin.
The other semi-final tie remains in the balance at the halfway stage, with Atalanta being pegged back in a 1-1 draw with Marseille at the Stade Velodrome.
Having scored twice in La Dea's memorable win at Anfield in the last round, Gianluca Scamacca took in Teun Koopmeiners' pass before finishing low across goal 11 minutes in, but Gian Piero Gasperini's team couldn't hold on.
Chancel Mbemba was the unlikely goalscorer for Marseille, stepping out of defence to clip a 25-yard effort against the far post and in after 20 minutes.
Neither side could find a winner from there, meaning it's all to play for ahead of next week's return fixture at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo.
Orlando City v FC Cincinnati: Acosta hails visitors for absorbing punches
Luciano Acosta has hailed FC Cincinnati for coming through a testing period as they look to make it three straight wins in MLS play at Orlando City on Saturday.
After going unbeaten through their first six games of the season, Cincinnati suffered back-to-back 2-1 defeats against the New York Red Bulls and CF Montreal.
However, they have since bounced back with two wins over difficult opponents, seeing off Atlanta United and the Colorado Rapids by the same scoreline.
Acosta scored his 44th goal for Cincinnati – the most of any player in franchise history – in that latter game, and he believes their resilience has been key.
"I think it's just about our mentality," Acosta said. "We lost those two games and it was a bit of a punch that woke us up. But now it's about the mentality and getting back to it."
Head coach Pat Noonan said of Acosta: "I think what makes it more impressive is teams are going to try to prevent him from having an impact.
"When you're a key player and you're able to do what he's doing with the focus on stopping you in a lot of ways, that's what is unique."
Orlando, meanwhile, were beaten 2-1 by Toronto FC last week, halting their four-game unbeaten streak and dropping them to 13th in the Eastern Conference.
Forward Duncan McGuire felt the Lions should have taken maximum points from that game and is desperate to atone at Inter&Co Stadium.
"I definitely think we should've won," he said.
"I think how difficult this felt and how this feels for us right now is going to push us and motivate us to train hard all week, to get a win for the fans at home and get the job done."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Orlando City – Duncan McGuire
Maguire scored his fourth goal of the MLS season against Toronto last week – no other Orlando player has netted more than once in 2024.
Those goals have come from an expected goals (xG) figure of 2.7, with the United States international also attempting a team-high 27 shots this campaign.
FC Cincinnati – Luciano Acosta
Acosta has contributed to at least one goal in four straight MLS matches (one goal, three assists).
It is Acosta's fifth streak of four or more straight regular-season games with a goal contribution for Cincinnati, with Brandon Vazquez the only other player to achieve that feat for the team.
MATCH PREDICTION – ORLANDO CITY WIN
Orlando earned a win and a draw against Supporters' Shield winners Cincinnati last season, making them one of two teams (also the New England Revolution) to play Cincinnati twice in the 2023 regular season and not lose either match.
The Lions may just fancy their chances of another positive result against Noonan's men, who have only won one of their last three away games (one draw, one defeat).
Orlando have only lost two of their last 17 regular-season home matches dating back to last April, winning nine and drawing six, so viewers should expect a response to their loss last time out.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Orlando City – 49.3%
FC Cincinnati – 23.6%
Draw – 27.1%
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
