Martinelli had not played since their narrow win over Everton in August and he missed five matches with a hamstring injury.
Mikel Arteta has opened up that the Gunners medical staff were “trembling” at the thought of Gabriel Martinelli playing against Man City.
Arsenal stunned Man City this time in the Premier League to take the second spot in the table. Arteta’s men won their first PL game after a gap of 8 years against the Sky Blues. Martinelli’s deflected effort in the 86th minute secured a big victory.
It also ended Arsenal’s run of 12 consecutive top-flight defeats to Manchester city. Martinelli had not played since their narrow win over Everton in August and he missed five matches with a hamstring injury.
When asked about Martinelli’s impact, Arteta told BBC Sport: “Yeah it was great.
“First of all thank you because he has made a huge effort to be in this game, nobody believed that he was going to be available. He kept saying ‘I’m going to be there, I’m going to be there.’
“All the medical staff was trembling and he was there when he was needed because Leo got injured after 30 minutes and he was excellent.”
In his post-match press conference, Arteta also added: “He’s been saying for a few weeks ‘I’m going to be there against City’.
“Everyone was saying Gabi it will be too early for you. Yesterday he said ‘boss, I told you I’m going to be ready for this’.
“It happened that Leo, after 30 minutes, felt something in his hamstring. I turned around and [Martinelli] was ready to go with his kit. ‘Boss, I’m ready’.
“It’s the joy of a kid. His mentality is incredible at his age. It’s a joy to have him. Today he could change a game and he was really helpful for us to win the game.”
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