Gabriel Martinelli's gesture in front of the Wolves supporters soon came back to haunt him in Arsenal's 2-2 Premier League draw at Molineux
13:28, 19 Feb 2026Updated 13:34, 19 Feb 2026
Gabriel Martinelli
View Image
Gabriel Martinelli posing in front of the Wolves fans
Gabriel Martinelli's act towards Wolves fans quickly came back to bite him after Arsenal conceded a late equaliser at Molineux. The Gunners led 2-0 before having to settle for a 2-2 draw and have now only won three of their last eight games in the top flight.
Martinelli started ahead of Leandro Trossard, with the Brazilian making his first league start appearance since the 0-0 draw at Nottingham Forest last month. He went on to play the entire game.
Bukayo Saka opened the scoring inside five minutes, while Piero Hincapie doubled his side's lead shortly after the break. The Ecuadorian's goal was subject to a lengthy VAR check, but he timed his run to perfection.
Hugo Bueno started Wolves' comeback with a stunning curling effort just after the hour mark, and shortly after, Martinelli was seen raising his arms and reminding the home fans of the score after winning a corner.
Content cannot be displayed without consent
But in added time, Martinelli's act would come back to haunt him after Gabriel and David Raya collided while trying to deal with a Wolves cross, and Samuel Edozie's effort hit the post before rebounding off Calafiori and into the net.
The draw has given Manchester City a huge boost in the Premier League title race. Pep Guardiola's side will face Newcastle United on Saturday, while Arsenal are away at Tottenham in the north London derby.
FOLLOW OUR ARSENAL FB PAGE!Latest Gunners news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page
Speaking in his post‑match press conference, Arteta admitted: "Extremely disappointed, obviously, with the result, with the way the game ended, but we have to blame ourselves.
"I think the performance in the second half didn't show anything close to the standards that are required in this league to win, with the margin that I think should have existed today, especially in the manner that we played the first half.
"It's a moment of disappointment. We all want to talk a lot about how we're feeling, but it's not the moment to do that, because anything that we do has to always and only be with the intention to help the team. Right now I think we have to swallow that frustration.
"When you are at this level and at the top, you need to take the hit, because today we deserve them as well, and move on as quickly as possible, because on Sunday we have a big game coming up."
Article continues below
Ensure our latest sport headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activateor add us as Preferred Source in your Google search settings
Content cannot be displayed without consent