Gabriel Martinelli came off the bench and scored a 93rd-minute equaliser to salvage a 1-1 draw for Arsenal against Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium.

City appeared to be on the brink of victory thanks to Erling Haaland’s brilliant breakaway goal in the ninth minute but Martinelli looped a superb finish over Gianluigi Donnarumma after latching onto Eberechi Eze’s pass to spark wild celebrations.

It came five days after the Brazilian made a similarly important impact from the bench in Arsenal’s win over Athletic Club, when he scored one goal and set up the other. His strike also bore similarities to his winner as a substitute against City in October 2023.

The goal ensured Arsenal are five points behind leaders Liverpool, rather than six, and came after they had struggled to carve out chances for long periods despite City having just 32.8 per cent possession, a record-low for a Pep Guardiola team.

Haaland’s goal, when he started and finished a devastating counter after combining with Tijjani Reijnders, made it three in as many games for the striker against Arsenal and 19 in his last 15 appearances in all competitions. It also gave City a vital foothold.

Arsenal’s only real chance of a poor first half came when Noni Madueke forced a near-post save from Donnarumma but they improved with the half-time introductions of Eze and the returning Bukayo Saka, who replaced Mikel Merino and Madueke.

Eze went close to a leveller soon after coming on, forcing a sharp save from Donnarumma with a rasping drive, but City looked comfortable after weathering that period of Arsenal pressure.

Guardiola took the uncharacteristic step of moving to a back five after introducing Nathan Ake for Phil Foden and it seemed they were going to secure a win to put them level on points with the Gunners. But Martinelli had the final say – and not for the first time.

His goal denied City a first Premier League win over Arsenal in four meetings but the draw left Arteta facing questions over his team selection as champions Liverpool finished the weekend in a commanding position at the top of the table.

Rice: Martinelli always delivers in big moments

Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice told Sky Sports: “Since I’ve come to the club, even before I’ve come, he [Martinelli] has always delivered in big moments, the amount of times he’s scoring in big games.

“A lot of players can talk if they get put on the bench but every time he comes in, he shows his desire.

“The run and finish – it’s unbelievable at that stage of the game. To have that composure, he really deserves it.

“So even though we didn’t win, I thought we finally deserved it because we dominated today and played really, really well.

“We just couldn’t break them down. Fair play to them. But Martinelli, he’s come on and produced a moment of magic. So we’re happy with that.”

Carra: Lack of creativity a worry for Arsenal

Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher said:

“I can understand where Rice is coming from, when you dominate a title rival as much as they did, you are pleased about that in some ways. That is not normal to see a game like that so one-sided in terms of territory and possession.

“But for me, I cannot get away from the fact Arsenal do not look like scoring a goal in open play and I felt that at Man Utd in the first game and at Anfield and today – credit to them as they found a way, they had lots of set-pieces, but did not look as dangerous on them today, but this still has to be a worry for Arsenal.

“I think this season from Arsenal in their five games from open play, their xG is about three, they did not really look like scoring at all and that is still a problem they had last season and it still looks in these first five games they still have it.”

Arteta: I’m proud of team but disappointed by result

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta to Sky Sports: “I’m very proud of the team. I must say, the way we played, we dominated them and I’m very disappointed with the result.

“We started incredibly well. So dominant again. We were playing in their half, and we didn’t allow them to breathe. But in one action, that was very chaotic, because the ball bounces.

“It’s a duel there, we lose it, and suddenly find themselves to be true in open spaces.

“And they are lethal there, and they finish the action with the quality that they have.

“After that, we had our five shaky minutes that we have to reset mentally because it was so unfair to concede a goal with what we were doing, and after that, we just completely dominated the game again.

“They win every match. It’s going to be very difficult but if we play at this level, like we did against Manchester City, we will be fine.”

Analysis: Arsenal’s ‘finishers’ deliver but Arteta got line-up wrong

Arteta used the word “finishers” when talking up the importance of Arsenal’s substitutes in the wake of their Champions League win over Athletic Club on Tuesday. They got them out of a tricky spot again five days later against Manchester City.

There did not appear to be much on when Eze picked up the ball in his own half in the third of seven minutes of stoppage time following a listless Arsenal display but his ball over the top was perfectly weighted for fellow “finisher” Martinelli to do the rest.

The pass and looping finish that followed were rare moments of individual quality in an Arsenal performance which lacked attacking inspiration. For Martinelli, fresh from his goal and assist from the bench in midweek, it was another point proved.

More broadly, though, it reflected, again, the increased depth available to Arteta. There can be little doubt the Arsenal boss got his line-up wrong but he is right in thinking games can be changed from the bench, even if this time it was only for a draw.

Martinelli, in particular, will hope his latest contribution is enough to win him a place in the starting line-up against Newcastle next weekend. But, along with Eze, he gave another reminder that Arsenal have the tools to turn games with their substitutes too.

Pep: Fair result but Arsenal were better

Man City boss Pep Guardiola told Sky Sports: “It’s difficult to analyse with all that’s happened this week. We play games like United and in the Champions League on Thursday and now today. The teams are so powerful in all aspects.

“The resilience – of course, it’s so difficult when you’re not effective in high pressing and you’re not effective in build-up.

“It’s always so tough and so difficult to do it. We made some transitions. I think the result is fair. But in general, Arsenal were better.

“Of course, the schedule has an effect. Your mindset has to be strong. You know how many injuries we have.”

Arteta’s unbeaten run vs Pep – Opta stats

• Mikel Arteta is the first manager to avoid defeat in five consecutive league games against Pep Guardiola, with his Arsenal side winning twice and drawing the other three across their last five Premier League meetings with City.
• Manchester City have won just seven points from their opening five Premier League matches (W2 D1 L2), their worst return after five league games of a campaign since 2006/07 under Stuart Pearce.
• Manchester City recorded their lowest ever possession average by a Pep Guardiola team in a top-flight league match. The two lowest have both been in games away to Arsenal in the Premier League (32.8 per cent today, 36.5 per cent in March 2023).
• Brighton (24) are the only Premier League team to score more goals via substitutes than Arsenal (20) across all competitions since the start of last season.
• Erling Haaland has either scored (five) or assisted (two) seven of Man City’s last nine Premier League goals against Arsenal. Only Son Heung-Min (10) has been directly involved in more league goals against the Gunners under Mikel Arteta than Haaland’s seven.

Story of the game in stats

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