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Arsenal hosted Sheffield United on Saturday at the Emirates Stadium for the 23rd match week of the Premier League. The hosts were coming into this game on the back of a draw against Crystal Palace, while the visitors won their previous match against West Ham United.
In the first half, we saw a scrappy start from the hosts as Sheffield looked the better side, although they didn't test Bernd Leno enough. That eventually came back to bite the away side as Arsenal grew into the game and eventually took the lead just before half-time, thanks to a goal from Gabriel Martinelli, who was found by Bukayo Saka.
The second half saw the Gunners being pegged back by Sheffield and after the visitors failed to take some decent opportunities, they scored through a John Fleck half-volley that found the top corner. Towards the end of the game, Sheffield were looking like the side who could get the winner but that didn't happen and Arsenal held on for another Premier League draw.
Here, we are going to take a look at the three standout players from the game.
#3 Gabriel Martinelli
Gabriel Martinelli was brought in against Sheffield United to replace Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as the Gabonese is currently serving a three-game ban due to the red card he received at Selhurst Park. The Brazilian scored the home side's opener on the day and it was a goal that showed the 18-year-old's capability to get into goalscoring positions.
He started on the left-wing for the hosts and he was constantly driving inside with the ball, which in turn vacated the space on that left-hand side for Saka to make an overlapping run. That's exactly how the Gunners took the lead as Saka found Martinelli on the back post for a tap in.
It was a good performance from the Brazilian and he is turning out to be Arsenal's best signing of the summer.
#2 Lucas Torreira
Arsenal's midfield dynamo Lucas Torreira put in another all-action performance against Sheffield United and slowly but surely, one can see the positive impact Mikel Arteta has had on the Uruguayan.
While Granit Xhaka takes up a deeper position in the midfield two, Torreira acts more like a ball carrier, which is exactly what happened on Saturday. Defensively, the 23-year-old made two tackles on the day, and as many interceptions and clearances. He had a passing accuracy of 84% with one shot on goal.
It has to be said that Torreira has been very consistent with his performances over the past couple of weeks and the Uruguayan is finally showing the kind of tenacity he was known for in Italy.
#1 John Fleck
John Fleck, Sheffield's left-sided midfielder, was quite clearly the man of the match against Arsenal, not only because of the goal but because of the hard work he put in on the day. He was brilliant both defensively and going forward, which can be seen in his stats.
The Scotland international made four tackles, along with one interception and two clearances. Offensively, Fleck played one key-pass, had a passing accuracy of 81.3%, and had two shots on goal, with one of them on target.
It was a proper box to box midfield display from the 28-year-old and he took his goal brilliantly as well. The technique for that half-volley was great as the Scottish international made sure he kept his shot down, that took a deflection and went into the back of the net. All in all, Fleck put in a brilliant shift on the day and he was rewarded for it.
