Arsenal breaks Manchester City jinx

Arsenal secured a dramatic 1-0 win against Manchester City, breaking a 12-match winless streak against their opponents in the Premier League. Gabriel Martinelli was the hero, netting the crucial goal in the 87th minute, ensuring Arsenal’s first league win over City since 2015.

The match began with Arsenal avoiding an early setback when Declan Rice cleared Josko Gvardiol’s header off the line in just the fourth minute. Mateo Kovacic walked a tightrope with robust challenges on Martin Odegaard and Rice but escaped a red card.

Gabriel Martinelli’s introduction at halftime brought renewed attacking vigor to Arsenal. He sealed the victory in the 87th minute with a deflected strike, off Nathan Ake, that found the back of the net.

Despite tense moments, including a potential penalty shout for City, Arsenal’s defense held firm to secure a memorable win in this highly anticipated clash between title rivals.

Match Line-ups: Arsenal XI: Trossard, Jorginho, Zinchenko, David Raya, Martin Ødegaard, Jesus, Rice, Gabriel, Ben White, Nketiah, William Saliba

Man City XI: Walker, Kovacic, Ake, Ederson, Ruben Dias, Bernardo, Haaland, Foden, Julián Álvarez, Josko Gvardiol, Rico Lewis

This victory marks a significant moment for Arsenal fans, ending years of frustration against Manchester City in the Premier League.

One Liverpool fan is convinced there is a hidden reason why Mateo Kovacic avoided what appeared to be a blatant red card against Arsenal during Sunday afternoon’s Premier League blockbuster at the Emirates Stadium.

The Croatian midfielder, who was named in Pep Guardiola’s starting lineup to play Mikel Arteta’s title-chasing Gunners, lined up alongside Rico Lewis.

And although both sides went into the half-time break level at 0-0, Arsenal will feel incredibly hard done by.

Kovacic lunged in on Martin Odegaard and clearly took out the Norweigan’s standing leg. Given the fact the City midfielder executed his challenge from behind, fans, both home and away, would have been expecting referee Michael Oliver to brandish a straight red card.

However, Olivier, to most fans’ surprise, opted against showing a red card and instead awarded City’s number eight with just a yellow.

Remarkably, Kovacic, just moments later, unleashed another poorly timed tackle, this time on Declan Rice, and once again escaped serious punishment.

And one Liverpool fan believes the reason Oliver opted against sending Kovacic off was due to his connections to Saudi Arabia’s football federation.

According to a recent report from the Telegraph, Oliver has been one official that Saudi’s sporting decision-makers are desperate to lure to the Middle East as they seek to make the Pro League one of the most popular competitions in the world.

Given Saudi Arabia’s ownership connections with Manchester City, coupled with their desire to lure Oliver away from the Premier League, there are concerns, as highlighted by this fan on X, that a potential conflict of interest has occurred during today’s Premier League showdown between two of the Premier League’s title favourites.