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Arsenal's William Saliba, top, and Arsenal's Gabriel celebrate winning the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Manchester City at the Emirates Stadium in London, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023.

10 outrageous stats from Arsenal’s statement 1-0 victory over Man City

Arsenal registered their first Premier League victory over Manchester City since 2015 thanks to a late Gabriel Martinelli winner.

Mikel Arteta’s Gunners sit narrowly behind their rivals Tottenham – only on goals scored – at the summit of the Premier League table heading into the international break.

Shkodran Mustafi was on the scoresheet last time Arsenal even took a point from Man City, back in 2017, and Olivier Giroud was on the scoresheet in their last league win against them – almost eight years ago. Manuel Pellegrini was in charge the last time City lost a Premier League match against Arsenal.

The game itself wasn’t a classic. It was a tight and cagey affair with little goalmouth action at their end, but Arsenal did well to restrict Pep Guardiola’s champions to few chances. Ultimately they were rewarded for a disciplined performance with Martinelli’s deflected effort in the 87th minute.

“So proud,” a beaming Arteta told Sky Sports.

“It was the moment with the right people and the right players. We knew we would have to suffer and we did that. You need a big performance and the crowd too. It feels like a big win.

“I think the way we started we conceded the corner and then we gained some control and in the second half we started really good. We were there and really aggressive. The changes helped as well. The quality they produced in the goal was top.

“[City] give you a lot [of problems] and we gave them a lot of issues as well. It is not easy to get out. You need the right timing, the right movement, the right moments. I like the courage.

“You are going to have these [hard] moments against this team. You have to be direct and managed the emotions and make sure you don’t get caught against this team.”

Here are 10 outrageous stats from Arsenal’s big win:

– Arsenal went into this contest off the back of their longest-ever losing streak (12 league matches) against a single opponent in their history. Man City had done the double over the Gunners in each of the last six seasons. Had Manchester City won here, they would have tied their own record (against West Brom) for the most consecutive Premier League wins between two opponents.

– Of the last Arsenal starting XI to beat Man City in the league, seven of them have since retired – Petr Cech, Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny, Nacho Monreal, Mathieu Flamini, Mesut Ozil and Theo Walcott. Only Hector Bellerin (Real Betis), Aaron Ramsey (Cardiff City), Joel Campbell (Alajuelense) and Olivier Giroud (AC Milan) are still playing today.

– All four of Arteta’s second-half substitutes were involved in the winning goal. Thomas Partey played the long ball forward, Takehiro Tomiyasu flicked the ball on, Kai Havertz laid the ball off and Martinelli provided the finishing touch.

– William Saliba won 100% of his duels and registered a 97% passing accuracy. He didn’t commit a single foul or get dribbled past once.

– Man City were the last remaining club that Arsenal haven’t registered a league win against during Arteta’s tenure. They’ve now beaten all 24 of the different clubs that they’ve faced while the Spanish coach has been in charge.

– Erling Haaland failed to register a single attempt. It’s only the second time that the Norwegian hasn’t had a shot in a Premier League game. He notched just 23 touches and completed just 11 passes.

 

– Man City have lost all three of the matches that Rodri served a suspension for – Newcastle United (League Cup), Wolves and Arsenal.

– Man City registered just four shots at the Emirates. That’s their lowest tally from Pep Guardiola’s 274 Premier League matches as a manager – via @OptaAnalyst. The last time they registered just four shots was back in 2010, also against Arsenal.

– Arsenal stopped the visitors from making a single attempt from the 58th minute onwards.

– Along with Tottenham, Arsenal are now on the joint-longest unbeaten run (nine matches) in the Premier League. They’re one of just eight unbeaten sides in the Premier League this season.

 


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