The pupil welcomed his former master to the Emirates – and for a moment, it seemed the old hierarchy would remain intact.
Erling Haaland struck early, firing Manchester City into the lead in the ninth minute and setting the tone for what looked like another dominant display.
But as the match edged into stoppage time, it was substitute Gabriel Martinelli who broke through City’s defensive wall, bulldozing past their parked bus to rescue a dramatic point with a 93rd-minute equaliser.
Daily Mail Sport breaks down the key talking points from the 1-1 draw at the Emirates.
Gabriel Martinelli came off the bench to earn Arsenal a 1-1 draw with Man City on Sunday
DONNARUMMA THE WALL
The 6ft 5in frame of Gianluigi Donnarumma was troubling Arsenal once again.
He did so back in April and May over two Champions League semi-finals legs for Paris Saint-Germain, pulling off a series of impressive stops to thwart the Gunners.
He didn’t need to pull off spectacular saves in Manchester City colours but his command of his box, particularly from set-pieces, was clear.
The 26-year-old made sure he was first to a number of corners from Noni Madueke and Declan Rice, using his height and frame to punch the ball away from the Gunners’ onrushing players.
Set-pieces have so often proved the key to winning matches for Arsenal, a team full of 6ft-plus players 6ft-plus who fancy themselves in duels – Gabriel and Mikel Merino in particular.
Donnarumma’s approach was mightily effective, and Arsenal’s set piece coach Nicolas Jover on the touchline was frantically pointing at his players with instructions over how make a breakthrough.
Mikel Arteta said of City’s keeper afterwards: ‘He’s so dominant in the box, and every ball that is in and around the six-yard box. His timing, the way he executes the action is super-efficient, it’s very difficult and today again he made some very important contributions.’
If other teams are stuck when it comes to how to defend Arsenal corners, the Donnarumma blueprint is a good one to look at — particularly if their keepers have the height of the Italian.
Gianluigi Donnarumma proved difficult to beat again for Arsenal as he had been when at PSG
Donnarumma command of his box was clear and thwarted Arsenal’s threat from set pieces
WHAT GYOKERES CAN LEARN
If any team could stop Haaland, it was likely to be Arsenal. The Gunners had restricted City’s forward to just two shots in four matches before Sunday’s clash.
Yet it took the Norwegian just nine minutes to strike, picking the ball up from before the halfway line, orchestrating a give-and-go with Tijjani Reijnders and outpacing Gabriel into the box.
He then coolly slotted the ball past Raya with his weaker right foot, nonchalantly ambling away upon scoring.
He’s in fine form, of course: five goals for Norway against Moldova last week was followed with strikes against Manchester United and Napoli. And his goal reflected just what Arteta has so desperately lacked in recent times: a goal machine who just needs that one chance to make the difference. They hoped they’d found one by signing Viktor Gyokeres, who barely had a touch in the box, took no shots and managed just eight passes.
His team-mates still seem to be adapting to his style of play, failing to find him when he broke through the lines which left the striker constantly coming short with his back to goal to receive the ball.
When asked about the lack of service to Gyokeres, Arteta said: ‘Well, there were a lot of very good balls in the box, especially I remember three of them that he was very, very close to doing it against City.
‘To have very big open chances is extremely difficult, but he’s certainly trying his best and trying to do that, and we have to provide more for him — that’s it.’
But the truth is that when he did receive possession, Gyokeres wasn’t able to make an impact the way Haaland did. Arsenal must rectify this as getting Gyokeres firing is a must.
Gyokeres barely had a touch in the box against Man City and failed to have a shot on goal
By contrast, Erling Haaland both launched and finished off Man City’s attack for their opener
THE CALL ARTETA GOT WRONG
One talking point as soon as the teamsheets came out was Arteta’s decision to start Leandro Trossard.
Gabriel Martinelli looked to be in contention for a start following his heroics against Athletic Bilbao but was named on the bench alongside Eberchi Eze and Bukayo Saka, who is returning from injury,
Trossard, having yet to start a game this season before today, came with a point to prove. The diminutive Belgian had a couple of shots blocked and kept looking to play incisive passes forward.
The squad depth Arteta possesses has created this competition and it means those on the fringes, like Trossard, head into rare starts with a point to prove.
But it was Martinelli who again stole the headlines with his late leveller. And he proved that starting Trossard over him – and Eze – was the wrong decision by Arteta.
Mikel Arteta’s decision to start Leandro Trossard was the talking point ahead of the match
Martinelli’s stunning late equaliser was evidence that Arteta had made the wrong call
The Brazilian came on after 80 minutes and had an immediate impact, driving forward with vim at the opposition backline.
His sublime chip took solid execution under pressure. It was the result of an impressive ball over the top from Eze in his own half.
It was the kind of magic needed to break a Man City low-block which featured five defenders in the second half.
Arteta did decide to bring on Eze and Saka at half-time – and that reflects how much depth he has in the frontline.
