Arteta claims ‘trembling’ Arsenal medical staff didn’t want Gunners star to play against Man City
Mikel Arteta has revealed that the Arsenal medical staff were “trembling” at the thought of Gabriel Martinelli playing against Manchester City.
Arsenal secured their first win over Man City since 2015 on Sunday thanks to Martinelli’s deflected effort in the 86th minute, which gave Arteta’s side a 1-0 victory.
It ended a run of 12 consecutive top-flight defeats to Pep Guardiola’s men and saw them leapfrog the Citizens in the Premier League table.
Martinelli had not played since their narrow win over Everton in August, missing five matches with a hamstring injury.
Leandro Trossard, who picked up a knock in the first half, was replaced at the start of the second half by the Brazilian with Arteta explaining how the Arsenal medical staff were reluctant for Martinelli to play.
When asked about Martinelli’s impact, Arteta told BBC Sport: “Yeah it was great.
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“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 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.”
On beating Man City, Arteta continued: “A great feeling. You could sense it’s been so many years without beating them. Today I think we beat the best team in the world without a question of a doubt.
“We did it in a great way because there were moments where we had to suffer and moments where we showed real desire, determination and belief to beat them, so I’m really happy.
“Certainly it sends a message to the team to keep believing in what they’re doing because they’re a fantastic group of players.
“The way they try and the chemistry that they have, you need it to be there. So, I’m really proud.
“The team showed a real maturity today, that comes from experiences. Sometimes you need that to become a better team.”
