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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Dan Kilpatrick

Arsenal player ratings vs Man City: Gabriel and William Saliba keep Erling Haaland anonymous with masterclass

Arsenal earned a first Premier League win over Manchester City since 2015 and condemned the champions to two League defeats on the bounce thanks to a late Gabriel Martinelli winner.

The half-time substitute’s effort cannoned home off Nathan Ake to spark bedlam at the Emirates and send Arsenal joint-top with rivals Tottenham.

Before Martinelli’s strike, the closest either team went in a low-quality affair was when Julian Alvarez charged down David Raya’s sloppy kick in the first half - but the ball ended up in the side netting.

City were lucky not to lose Mateo Kovacic in the first half, with the midfielder only booked for a studs-up challenge on Martin Odegaard which was checked for serious foul play by the VAR, and then somehow escaping a second yellow for another slide tackle on Declan Rice.

Here’s how we rated the Arsenal players...

David Raya 5

Incredibly fortunate that his charged-down clearance ended up in the side netting off Alvarez and missed a Josko Gvardiol cross in a generally shaky display.

Ben White 8

Overlapped well down the right flank and was excellent defensively.

William Saliba 8

Dealt well with Haaland, including one crucial intervention as City threatened to break towards the end of the first half. Helped ensure the Norwegian fed off scraps.

Gabriel 9

See above. Denied Haaland a certain goal with a crucial intervention after Raya missed a deep cross and helped restrict City to no clear chances.

Oleksandr Zinchenko 7

His passing was crisp and he was solidly defensively, standing up well to lively substitute Jeremy Doku.

Declan Rice 8

Cleared an early Gvardiol effort off the line and shielded the defence superbly in a robust performance.

Jorginho 7

Kept possession ticking over for the hosts and was more assured than on his last appearance here, when he was at fault for Tottenham’s equaliser in a 2-2 draw.

Martin Odegaard 7

Moved the ball well and important in playing through City’s press. Didn’t bring his shooting boots though and sent a couple of efforts flying over the bar.

Gabriel Jesus 7

Was direct and lively in Saka’s spot but feels a bit wasted out wide when he is so good centrally.

Gabriel Jesus was tasked with filling in for Bukayo Saka on the right wing (REUTERS)

Leandro Trossard 5

Struggled to make an impact on the game and hooked at half-time.

Eddie Nketiah 5

A willing runner but spanked a first-half effort wide in his only real sight of goal.

Subs

Gabriel Martinelli (Trossard 45’) 8

Made the difference when his strike deflected in off Ake. Immediately made an impact in the second half, and also tested Ederson with near-post effort.

Takehiro Tomiyasu (Zinchenko 75’) 7

Brought on to deal with the direct Doku and Kyle Walker, but ended up playing a key role in the goal.

Kai Havertz (Nketiah 75’) 7

Made the difference for the second League game running with a simple assist for Martinelli’s winner.

Thomas Partey (Jorginho 75’) 7

Made his return from injury and played a part in the winner by starting the move with a long ball towards Tomiyasu.

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