'Exquisite': Micah Richards raves about £48m Arsenal star after 1-1 vs Man City

Arsenal shared the spoils against Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday.

The Gunners went into the contest at the Emirates Stadium as potential frontrunners.

However, Man City broke the deadlock in the ninth minute after a fantastic counter-attack before a trademark Erling Braut Haaland finish.

Arsenal lacked the cutting edge in the opening half, but the scenario changed at the interval with Bukayo Saka and Eberechi Eze being brought on.

The duo added more creativity to the proceedings. Eze provided a brilliant long ball for Gabriel Martinelli’s late winner in stoppage time.

Martinelli scored from a central striker role for the second game running off the bench.

The £48 million-rated attacker produced the perfect lob over Cityzens goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, who was caught way out of position.

Speaking after the 1-1 draw, Micah Richards said that the timing of the run and the finish was exquisite from Martinelli after Eze’s brilliantly weighted pass.

He told Sky Sports (via BBC Sport): “If you see when Eze got the ball, for some reason they decide not to drop off. But the timing of the run, the weight of the pass and then the finish was exquisite.”

Martinelli had a brilliant cameo against Athletic Bilbao in the Champions League. He opened the scoring before laying the assist for Leandro Trossard’s strike.

It was anticipated that the Brazilian would start on the left wing against Pep Guardiola’s side, but manager Mikel Arteta surprisingly went with Trossard instead.

Trossard had a much-improved second-half showing against the Cityzens, but the Belgian lacked the counter-attacking pace to get behind the defence.

Martinelli provided a different dimension to the Gunners’ attack. With City going into ultra defence, he found the perfect chance to pounce and bag the winner.

Speaking after the game, the 24-year-old said that he does not want to be on the bench. He has certainly made a mark with his goal contributions in the last two outings.

Arsenal begin their Carabao Cup campaign against Port Vale in the third round on Wednesday evening. Martinelli and Eze should be among the starters at Vale Park.

Stats from Transfermarkt.com

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