Emi Martinez battles with Gabriel for the ball
Emi Martinez battles with Gabriel for the ball
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Emi Martinez has taken to social media to post a message about Gabriel’s opening goal in Arsenal’s 4–1 win over Aston Villa.
The goalkeeper came off second best in an aerial contest against the Brazilian defender at the start of the second half as the hosts opened the scoring.
Bukayo Saka sent in a cross from a corner, which Martinez failed to deal with, and the ball came off Gabriel.
On Tuesday night, Martinez posted a picture of his collision with Gabriel — a freeze frame of the Arsenal man appearing to catch Martinez with his elbow as he dropped the ball.
It was accompanied by the caption: “The best team won today, we still in good position for the 2nd part of the season,” along with the hashtags “#elbowallow” and “#UTV”.
The defeat ended Villa’s remarkable 11-match winning run, which began in early November.
Indeed, Tuesday’s defeat at the Emirates was Villa’s first loss in all competitions since going down 2–0 against Liverpool at Anfield.
Martin Zubimendi doubled Arsenal’s lead shortly after Gabriel’s opener, before Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus made sure of the points.
Ollie Watkins scored a consolation goal deep into second-half stoppage time to reduce Villa’s losing margin.
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