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.”
Shaw reveals how advice from former Man City stalwarts Bronze, Sterling assisted her to settle at the club
After struggling to find her footing when she just arrived at Manchester City, Jamaica international Khadija 'Bunny' Shaw, revealed that it was the advice of Lucy Bronze and Raheem Sterling, coupled with hard work, that assisted in her now being the club's record goalscorer.
Since her transfer from Bordeaux in 2021, Shaw has cemented her status as one of the game’s most clinical strikers during her spell with Gareth Taylor's side so far. In the process, she smashed a number of records, including most goals scored by a Manchester City women’s player in a single season -31 in the 2022-23 campaign -before becoming the club's all-time leading goalscorer with 72 goals overall.
However, she wasn't always confident that she would have accomplished those feats, as she pointed out how guidance from former Manchester City pair Bronze and Sterling put her on the path to history in sky blue, after a difficult early period at the Joie Stadium.
“When I came here initially, I was struggling a bit,” Shaw revealed on The Women's Game Podcast with Sam Mewis.
“One day I was coming in from training and Lucy [Bronze] was coming in as well and she asked, ‘are you okay?’ and I said ‘I just can’t get the way they play, I can’t get it right’. City play a specific type of way and I was saying when we were walking in from training ‘I cannot get this right’. I didn’t know if here was for me.
“She started laughing and she was like ‘you focus on what got you here, the bits you do well that got you here, there’s something they saw in you that got you here’. At that moment I was like ‘wow’. I then called Raheem [Sterling] and I said the same thing to him. He was just laughing and said, ‘when I came from Liverpool I struggled a bit, they play a certain way so trust the process, believe in what you’re doing and believe in yourself’," she added.
From there, the 26-year-old Shaw said she continued to put in the work, both on and off the field until her performances came together.
“I put the comments from both Lucy and Raheem together and it made sense. I told myself to continue working and watching the videos, see how I could improve my game and seeing how best I can help the team. By doing that, it helped a little better day-by-day. Couple of weeks later I called Raheem and said, ‘it’s working!’ He was laughing and said, ‘I told you, you’ve just got to believe in yourself and do all the right things and focus on you first and foremost before you can focus on anything else’," Shaw shared.
Although her 2023/24 campaign was cut short due to a broken foot, Shaw will finish the campaign with 22 goals and five assists. And she credits her sparkling City success to her dedication on the City Football Academy training pitch.
“I just kept at it and believing in myself. The confidence comes from scoring goals and as the games come, I’m thriving," she ended.
Burnley boss Kompany demands never-say-die attitude as Premier League relegation looms
Vincent Kompany refused to admit defeat as Burnley slipped closer to Premier League relegation after a 4-1 thrashing by Newcastle United at Turf Moor.
The Clarets' heavy defeat, coupled with Nottingham Forest's 3-1 win over Sheffield United on Saturday, leaves Burnley five points adrift of safety with just two games remaining.
Burnley's loss was their 22nd in the Premier League this season (W5 D9), only in 2009-10 (24) and 1975-76 (23) have the Clarets lost more times in a Football League campaign.
Yet Kompany attempted to find the positives in the performance, suggesting there is still a chance his side take it to the final day against fellow relegation-battlers Forest.
"In the end I am not beaten or defeated by it personally in terms of my attitude," said Kompany.
"They are a good side with phenomenal attacking players, midfielders comfortable on the ball and aggressive in other situations.
"We never let this game die, the result and score was done but we kept going, kept threatening and that is all I can ask my players to do.
"For us, we have to look at that [next] Tottenham game as the final game of the season. If the opposition teams lose and we win, what are you going to write then? That's all it is.
"If they lose and we win, all of a sudden we have a different discussion before the next game. If we get a bonus with a game against Forest, then that's our final, that's how we have to look at it."
Callum Wilson, Sean Longstaff, Bruno Guimaraes and Alexander Isak – the latter who saw a second-half penalty saved, too – were all on target in a home humbling for Burnley.
Dara O'Shea's late consolation goal mattered for little as this disappointing result was made more painful by Forest winning at Bramall Lane.
Nuno Espirito Santo's 17th-placed side fell behind to Ben Brereton Diaz's penalty, only for Callum Hudson Odoi's brace and a second-half finish from Ryan Yates to save the day.
Blades manager Chris Wilder was left aggrieved, though, as his already-relegated United wanted a free-kick for a foul on Brereton Diaz in the build-up to Yates' goal that made it 2-1.
"I will let you put two and two together. I think it is a pretty easy, comfortable decision for everybody to make because of the situation," Wilder said, seemingly referencing Forest's recent problems with refereeing.
"I will let you decide on that situation. I'm not going to get dragged into that debate, a foul is a foul, whether it is a push in any part of the pitch.
“For me it is a foul, people tell me the game has moved on, you could say Ben needs to be stronger, but there is no need for him to go down like that, you can see he has two hands in his back.
"They score from that opportunity, we go 2-1 down."
Forest's top-flight safety could be secure before they face Chelsea next Saturday, with Burnley needing victory away against Tottenham to take their survival hopes to the final day.
Girona 4-2 Barcelona: Hosts secure Champions League football while ending Blaugrana's title hopes
Girona beat Barcelona 4-2 to secure Champions League qualification and gift Real Madrid their 36th LaLiga title.
Madrid, who have lost only once in the league this season, hold a 13-point advantage over second-placed Girona, while Barca dropped to third after Saturday's loss.
The victory saw Girona seal European football for the first time in their history.
A brace from substitute Portu helped LaLiga's surprise package Girona to humble their Catalan rivals.
Andreas Christiansen scored in the third minute to give Barca the lead but Girona hit back a minute later, with LaLiga's top scorer Artem Dovbyk heading in the equaliser.
Robert Lewandowski put the visitors back ahead from the penalty spot just before the break.
However, in his first action after coming off the bench, Portu restored parity before Miguel Gutierrez scored from a rebound two minutes later to turn the match on its head.
And that paved the way for a stunning volley from Portu in the 74th minute to secure the win.
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