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Arsenal forward Gabriel Martinelli has stated that he told Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez that he would score when their respective teams clashed.
The Gunners hosted Villa at the Emirates on Wednesday (August 31) in the Premier League. Martinez kept the visitors in the game for the first 30 minutes with multiple saves but was beaten by Gabriel Jesus at the half-hour mark.
Douglas Luiz leveled things up for Villa in the 74th minute, but an unmarked Martinelli converted Bukayo Saka's cross at the back-post three minutes later. The goal was enough to secure all three points and a fifth consecutive league win for the hosts.
Speaking after the game, Martinelli revealed his conversation with Martinez before the game, adding that the Argentine was a good friend of his. The Brazilian told Arsenal.com (as quoted by The Boot Room):
“He’s a very good friend of mine. I told him that I was going to score – and I did it! I’m so happy with the goal and the team performance. I think I got the ball wide. I played it to Tomi, he played it to Bukayo. He crossed and I was there. I just tried to put it in and it worked.”
Martinelli and Martinez seemed to engage in an individual battle of their own during the match at the Emirates Stadium. The forward forced two saves from the Villa goalkeeper, including a spectacular finger-tip effort following a venomous half-volley from outside the box.
Both South Americans put in fantastic individual performances as well. Apart from his goal, Martinelli provided two key passes, completed three out of his four dribbles and finished with a passing accuracy of 83%.
Martinez, meanwhile, made six saves, including three inside the box, and two high claims, while recording six successful long-ball attempts.
(All stats as per Sofascore.)
Arsenal will take on Manchester United this weekend
Few could have predicted Arsenal beginning the season the way they have.
The Gunners are one of just three sides to hold a perfect record across Europe's top five leagues in the ongoing campaign. The other two teams, Real Madrid and Real Betis, have notably played only three matches.
Mikel Arteta's troops have already scored 13 goals and conceded just four in five Premier League matches so far. They will head into their next fixture, a blockbuster clash against Manchester United at Old Trafford on September 4, with plenty of confidence.
Arsenal won the last meeting between the two heavyweights 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium in April. However, United emerged 3-2 victors when they clashed at Old Trafford in December 2021.
