Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola was full of praise for a key member of the attacking setup at Arsenal, on the back of the meeting between the two sides on Friday evening.
City and Arsenal, of course, locked horns a short time ago.
In the first meeting of the term between English football’s best two sides at present, the Premier League champions welcomed Mikel Arteta’s Gunners to the Etihad, with a spot in the FA Cup’s fifth round at stake.
And, when all was said and done, it was the former who went on to march on.
This came as a solitary Nathan Ake strike just beyond the hour mark ultimately proved enough to guide City to the right side of a 1-0 scoreline.
The hosts’ eventual triumph on Friday, though, did not come without a couple of scares along the way.
Arsenal actually looked the better side for much of the 90 minutes, with the likes of Takehiro Tomiyasu, Leandro Trossard and Eddie Nketiah having all come close to finding the net over the course of the clash.
It was another member of Mikel Arteta’s squad, though, who evidently stood out as the Gunners’ key danger man in the eyes of the aforementioned Pep Guardiola.
Speaking to the media post-match, City’s head coach was drawn on the subject of how he felt his side fared in holding Arsenal at bay after taking the lead.
And Guardiola, after praising the Sky Blues’ focus, went on to highlight the stellar efforts of substitute Gabriel Martinelli, in labelling the Brazilian an ‘incredible weapon’.
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