Arsenal 1-0 Manchester City: Gabriel Martinelli hands the Gunners a memorable win late on in tense Premier League title clash with Pep Guardiola’s side

• Re-live all the action as it happened from the Emirates Stadium with Mail Sport’s dedicated live match blog 
• Goal scorer Gabriel Martinelli came off the bench to change the impetus of the game before netting late on 
• Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport’s podcast ‘It’s All Kicking Off!’

They poured off the Piccadilly Line train at Arsenal tube station and walked up the long slope from the platform towards the ticket barriers. The lay out is the same as it always was, back in the Arsene Wenger days and before, back when George Graham was manager and Bertie Mee and Herbert Chapman before him.

The fans stream towards the surface, just as generations of fans have before them, and, on the right, there is a single, narrow lane caged off for travellers who are heading in the opposite direction and are not interested in the football, so that they do not have to struggle against the red and white tide.

On Sunday afternoon, they poured out of the station exit into the bright sunshine on Gillespie Road in their shirts with Bukayo Saka’s name on the back and Martin Odegaard’s and Declan Rice’s. The smell of frying onions and burgers on the grill filled the still heat of the day.

The walk to the Emirates from there takes supporters on a stroll through the club’s history, past the merchandise stall on Drayton Park with the framed list of the run of 49 unbeaten games that Arsenal embarked upon in May 2003 and concluded with a home victory over Aston Villa in October 2004.

Past the flags on the Ken Friar Bridge over the railway line that commemorate the contributions of legends like Patrick Vieira and Dennis Bergkamp and Robert Pires and Charlie George. Past the statue of Tony Adams, his arms outstretched as he basks in the adoration of the fans.

Gabriel Martinelli came off the bench at the break to change the impetus of the match, before scoring the eventual winner

The Brazilian changed the game after coming on and was the only Arsenal player to get a shot on target throughout the entire game

The strike came from the edge of the box, after it was knocked down by Takehiro Tomiyasu into Kai Havertz’s path, who duly laid off for the Brazilian

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It is a walk of belonging, that walk. But it is also a walk of yearning. The desperation for this club to be able to anoint new heroes to take their places alongside the greats of the past is everywhere, in the pictures of Saka sitting on the turf with Odegaard, staring into the camera and the scarves that bear the names of William Saliba and Gabriel Jesus.

MATCH FACTS AND PLAYER RATINGS

Arsenal: Raya 6; White 6, Saliba 8, Gabriel 7, Zinchenko 6 (Tomiyasu 75 6); Odegaard 7, Jorginho 6 (Partey 75 6), Rice 8;  Gabriel Jesus 6, Nketiah 6 (Havertz 75 6), Trossard 6 (Martinelli 45 7).

Subs: Ramsdale, Kiwior, Smith Rowe, Vieira, Nelson

Goal: Martinelli 87′

Booked: Jorginho, Jesus 

Manager: Mikel Arteta 

Manchester City: Ederson 6; Walker 9, Dias 6, Ake 7, Gvardiol 6; Lewis 6 (Stones 65 7), Kovacic 6 (Nunes 65 6), Bernardo Silva 7; Alvarez 6 (Doku 65 6), Haaland 6, Foden 6.

Subs: Ortega, Phillips, Grealish, Gomez, Akanji, Bobb 

Booked: Silva, Kovacic, Ederson 

Manager: Pep Guardiola 

Referee: Michael Oliver 6

They are close now to that coronation. So close they can feel it. Closer than they have been for almost 20 years. But they knew on that walk to the stadium that, in order to realise that dream, at some point they are going to have to beat Manchester City to get there.

City have won the title for five of the past six seasons and even if Spurs were top when Sunday dawned, Pep Guardiola’s team remains the benchmark. Arsenal had lost 12 times in succession to the European champions and it feels that, only when they break through that psychological barrier, will they be ready to win the title again.

It felt as if City could be unusually vulnerable. They were without Kevin de Bruyne and Rodri, not just two of their best players but two of the best players in the world, and they were coming into the game on the back of a shock first league defeat of the season, to Wolves.

But Arsenal were dealt a grievous blow, too, when it was confirmed before kick-off that Saka had not recovered from the injury he sustained during the club’s Champions League defeat to Lens on Tuesday. Saka is Arsenal’s talisman as much as Rodri has become City’s. To win a title, a team has to overcome setbacks such as that.

City nearly scored twice in the first five minutes. Rice headed off the line from Josko Gvardiol after David Raya was caught out at a corner and then, when Arsenal failed to clear the ball, Nathan Ake blazed over from close range after he pounced on a flick from Erling Haaland.

City went close again when Julian Alvarez charged down an attempted clearance from Raya only for the ball to crash into the side-netting. It already felt as if City were superior, as if their muscle-memory of what it takes to win was carrying them higher but Arsenal fought against it. Odegaard windmilled his arms to exhort the crowd to greater volumes.

The crowd responded, particularly when Mateo Kovacic was lucky to stay on the pitch after successive studs-up tackles on Odegaard and Rice. Referee Michael Oliver gave him a yellow for the first one, which could have been a red, and let the second go unpunished, when it looked like a yellow, much to the fury of the home fans.

Gabriel Martinelli came on for Leandro Trossard at half time and injected a whole new sense of hunger and urgency into Arsenal’s play. But gradually, the second half slipped into a battle of attrition. It seemed to be heading towards a stalemate. Another match, another chance lost for Arsenal to overcome their psychological barrier.

Manchester City midfielder Mateo Kovacic was perhaps fortunate not to be sent off for two robust challenges in the first half

The Croatian was handed a yellow for the first of the two tackles, which could have been a red, before escaping the second unscathed

Despite losing at the Emirates on Sunday afternoon, Pep Guardiola’s team remain the benchmark in the Premier League

Erling Haaland failed to get a single shot on target in the game as he was well dealt with by the Arsenal defensive unit

For City it is a third consecutive domestic defeat, after losing to both Newcastle and Wolves in recent fixtures

David Raya had endured a torrid first half of the match as he dawdles in possession on a number of occasions under pressure

And then four minutes from time came the precious breakthrough. Second half substitute Takehiro Tomiyasu nodded down a long ball on the edge of the City area, Kai Havertz laid it back into the path of Martinelli and his curling shot deflected off the face of Ake, wrong-footed Ederson and scuttled across the line.

The Emirates exploded. In the stands, fans reached across into the front row of the press box to grasp the hand of Martin Keown, another link with Arsenal’s glorious past. ‘One-nil to the Arsenal,’ they sang deliriously, reliving another chunk of their history. The stadium was ablaze.

And when the final whistle went, there was a tremendous roar of elation and relief and catharsis. A dragon had been slain. Arsenal had crossed the Rubicon. There is an argument to say that in all their years of striving through Wenger’s decline, this is the most important result since they last won the title nearly 20 years ago.

It took them up to second place in the table, level on points with leaders Tottenham, ahead of City. And as their fans streamed past the statue of Adams, across the bridge and into the throngs heading for Arsenal underground station, they believed a new generation of heroes was preparing to take its place in the pantheon.

Players were seen fanning their arms to urge the fans into greater support throughout the game, before bursting out in cries of ‘One-nil to the Arsenal’ after Martinelli’s strike

Mikel Arteta secured a first win in the Premier League over his former side having won in the Community Shield in August

Arsenal restricted the impressive Manchester City attacking unit for just their first clean sheet in their last 16 meetings 

Martinelli had both of Arsenal’s shots on target in the entire game as they largely struggled to make the breakthrough

Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard were among the players to feature on the back of fans’ shirts ahead of kick-off

Aaron Ramsdale was left on the bench by Arteta for the sixth game in succession in all competitions on Sunday afternoon

IT’S ALL KICKING OFF! 

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