SETTABLOID

Gabriel Martinelli defends Myles Lewis-Skelly Man City celebration as Arsenal title claim made

Gabriel Martinelli has come to the defence of Myles Lewis-Skelly’s much-talked-about celebration during Arsenal’s emphatic 5-1 victory over Manchester City, asserting that the young Gunner meant no disrespect to Erling Haaland.

After netting his first goal for the senior team, Lewis-Skelly imitated the City forward’s trademark meditation celebration. Post-match, with Arsenal’s title hopes invigorated, manager Mikel Arteta seemed to caution his squad about over-celebrating.

However, Martinelli backed his team-mate, whose second-half goal highlighted another standout display from the academy graduate. “I don’t know if it (the celebration) was planned, but, for sure, he respects Erling a lot,” said Martinelli. “He scored an amazing goal, and he has been brilliant recently. We are really happy for him.”

Haaland, who briefly equalised for City in the match at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, had previously been on the receiving end of Arsenal’s attention after his “stay humble” remark to Arteta during the frenzied 2-2 draw earlier in the season at the Etihad Stadium. Before Lewis-Skelly’s nod to Haaland’s celebration, Gabriel had yelled in the face of the Norwegian following Martin Odegaard’s goal, and Arsenal fans also didn’t shy away from taunting the striker, who responded by gesturing towards the Premier League champions badge on his sleeve.

Hansi Flick hails one Barcelona star as ‘the best’ after narrow win over Alavés

Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick has moved to reiterate his appreciation for one member of his squad, on the back of the club’s meeting with Deportivo Alavés.

Barca of course marked their return to action a short time ago.

In the knowledge that a victory would see them close the gap on table-topping Real Madrid to just four points, the Blaugrana welcomed the aforementioned Alavés to Catalunya’s capital.

And, when all was said and done, emerge on the right side of the result is precisely what Hansi Flick’s troops managed.

A solitary goal, netted by Robert Lewandowski on the hour mark, proved all that was required to put a game Alavés to the sword.

After breaking free at the back post, the Pole showcased all of his goalscoring instincts, in directing a volleyed finish high into the net from close range.

His latest strike took Lewandowski’s tally for the season to a hugely impressive 30 goals.

Speaking to the media post-match this evening, it therefore came as little surprise when the name of his side’s chief goal-getter was put to Hansi Flick.

Hansi Flick talks Gavi, Araújo, García, Frenkie, Lewandowski, and Yamal after 1-0 Barcelona win over Alavés

FC Barcelona continued their winning run in La Liga with another victory in their last match against Alavés. The Catalans emerged 1-0 winners in a match that was anything but easy for them.

Robert Lewandowski was the one who made the difference, as he scored the only goal in the game in the second half. The first half was rather uneventful, and Hansi Flick had to make some changes in his team at halftime to get a result.

Pedri 9.0, Yamal 8.5 | Barcelona 1-0 Alaves: Player ratings

FC Barcelona manage to overcome Deportivo Alaves and get a much-needed win at home. With this victory, La Blaugrana have secured three very crucial points in La Liga. Now, after quite some time, Barcelona are gradually closing the gap at the top of the table.

Ultimately, it took the combined brilliance of both Lamine Yamal and Pedri to drag Barça out of this game that was getting increasingly more worrying as time went on. Finally, Robert Lewandowski managed to be the player who ended up breaking the deadlock and winning the game.

Wojciech Szczesny: 7.5

Did not do much wrong and played alongside his high-line rather well today. Also had a sense of confidence and control about the balls that did manage to reach his hands or come his way near the end of the game.

Jules Kounde: 7.0

The Frenchman did well to help out Lamine Yamal as much as possible on the attack, and kept his defensive duties in mind as well. A solid performance from the fullback both going forward and staying back. However, his passing options were often quite limited by the opposition, who did not find too many hurdles in doing so either.

Ronald Araujo: 7.5

The Uruguayan defender had a solid first half, and did his best in terms of snuffing out any chances that Alaves tried to conjure. However, perhaps due to a tactical reason, he was replaced at half-time by Eric Garcia. Did manage to hold the offside trap quite well as well.

Pau Cubarsi: 8.0

A bit more passive than usual in terms of his passing, but was just as active in terms of his defending. Solid outing for the young Spaniard, who did not feel too threatened by the Alaves attackers. However, his participation in setting the offside traps were simply perfect.

Alejandro Balde: 7.0

Always eager to move forward, and he had a good few moments where his dribbling came in handy. However, Alaves were rather effective in terms of shutting down most of his attempts to create something from the left flank.

Arsenal planning TWO striker signings, with loan followed by £60m coup

Arsenal are still pressing to sign Mathys Tel on loan for the rest of the season – but only to put them on until they can secure an even bigger signing, according to the latest update.

After rejecting Tottenham, Tel has two main choices if he wants to come to the Premier League. Manchester United are one, but Arsenal are the other. Before making his choice, the Bayern Munich forward wants to know how big a role he would play.

Arsenal could have a chance of giving him a prominent role, since they’re in desperate need of attacking reinforcements. Injuries to Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka have severely weakened their frontline options. And after those blows, Tel has been identified by Arsenal as a suitable reinforcement.

Arsenal are in contact with Tel’s representatives. From those talks, they’ve gained a belief that the Frenchman is interested in joining them.

However, they still need to agree terms with Bayern if they are to take Tel on loan. Furthermore, the report claims Arsenal have their eyes on a bigger signing in the summer.

What Erling Haaland did after Arsenal thrashing and Gabriel Magalhaes battle as footage emerges

Erling Haaland made a clear jibe towards Arsenal supporters inside the Emirates Stadium after Manchester City’s 5-1 embarrassment.

Title rivals in each of the past two seasons, that appears to not be the case again as Mikel Arteta’s side winning emphatically positions them nine points ahead of their old foe. Such a fact could not have been predicted when the teams last met in September, with Haaland drawing attention to himself by clashing with numerous Gunners players during the 2-2 draw and telling them to ‘stay humble’ at the Etihad Stadium.

In Sunday’s clash he resumed the battle with opposite defender Gabriel Magalhaes, who laughed in his face after Martin Odegaard netted inside two minutes of the first whistle. They would come to blows many more times throughout the 90 minutes, with the Norwegian thinking he would have the last laugh when equalising in the second half.

But Arsenal romped to victory, and in his goal celebration Myles Lewis-Skelly had even mocked the Man City striker by copying his trademark meditation celebration. Haaland seemingly proceeded with calmness to acknowledge his club’s supporters at the final whistle, though the true reality was picked up by Sky Sports cameras.

As seen the 24-year-old had gone to clap his own fans but upon further jests from the red and white crowd nearby, he pointed towards the golden Premier League patch on his right sleeve.

A golden patch is of course the sign of the reigning champions, which Man City became after pipping the Gunners to the title last year by two points.

Mathys Tel picks Man Utd over Arsenal, but United forced into major compromise to seal deal

Bayern Munich striker Mathys Tel has reportedly chosen to join Manchester United over Arsenal and the Red Devils are locked in talks to complete the ‘complicated’ signing.

The talented 19-year-old decided that he wants to leave Bayern earlier this week and that has led to a major battle for his services.

Tottenham tried and failed to sign Tel and since it has been a battle between Man Utd and Arsenal for the youngster’s signature, despite Chelsea also being interested.

According to a bombshell update from journalist Florian Plettenberg, Tel has decided to snub Arsenal in favour of a switch to Old Trafford, but Man Utd will have to pursue a permanent move rather than a loan to get him.

Man Utd are keen to strengthen their striker options in the final days of the window, with Ruben Amorim understood to want more competition for Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee.

Arsenal’s next five Premier League fixtures compared to Liverpool after Man City win

Arsenal kept their Premier League title hopes alive with an emphatic victory over Manchester City.

The Gunners recorded a 5-1 win over City at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday evening. Goals from Martin Odegaard, Thomas Partey, Miles Lewis-Skelly, Kai Havertz and Ethan Nwaneri secured the precious three points for Arsenal.

Mikel Arteta’s side moved back to six points behind leaders Liverpool – who have a game in hand – in the Premier League table after their win over Bournemouth 24 hours earlier. Arsenal will now prepare for their Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against Newcastle next week as they aim to overturn a 2-0 deficit.

Arsenal now have 14 Premier League matches left to play this season in order to overturn the six-point margin between themselves and Liverpool.

Arsenal’s next five Premier League fixtures

February 15 vs Leicester City (A) at 12.30pm – Premier League

February 22 vs West Ham (H) at 3pm – Premier League

February 26 vs Nottingham Forest (A) at 7.30pm – Premier League

March 9 vs Manchester United (A) at 4.30pm – Premier League

March 16 vs Chelsea (H) at 3pm – Premier League

Arsenal player ratings vs Man City as Lewis-Skelly sensational, Havertz and Nwaneri make impact

Arsenal moved nine points clear of Manchester City with a glorious and dominant win over their recent rivals. After the draw earlier in the season, this win felt amazing and didn’t the players know it?

The Gunners took the lead inside the first few minutes after a mistake from Manuel Akanji allowed Leandro Trossard to nip in before Kai Havertz set up Martin Odegaard to score. Havertz then missed a massive chance after David Raya had saved well from a Josko Gvardiol header.

Erling Haaland however would have his say on the game, heading in from a Savinho cross from the right. Minutes later, however, Thomas Partey’s deflected strike from outside the box was enough to beat Stefan Ortega.

The headlines though come courtesy of Arsenal youngster Myles Lewis-Skelly who not only scored a brilliant goal, but followed it up by performing Erling Haaland’s celebration – amazing. Havertz would redeem himself from his earlier miss, taking advantage of a break and finessing a shot round the keeper. Ethan Nwaneri then scored late on to seal a fantastic win in north London.

David Raya – The Spaniard made an excellent save in the first half from a corner that looked destined to hit the net after Josko Gvardiol’s header. Right before the break, Savinho had a deflected shot going low to the right corner and again the Spaniard met it. 8

Arsenal transfer news LIVE – Ollie Watkins hope, Dusan Vlahovic chance, Liam Delap prompt

Arsenal fans will be eagerly hoping that their team signs a striker before Monday’s transfer deadline.

Mikel Arteta’s team are badly in need of reinforcements up front, with Gabriel Jesus, the club’s only natural No. 9, set to miss the rest of the season with an ACL injury. One forward that the Gunners have shown interest in is Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins, with the Villans turning down an offer.

Another Villa forward, Jhon Duran, has also emerged as a potential target for Arsenal, as the West Midlands club reportedly considers selling him. Al Nassr are currently in pole position to secure his signature, but the landscape could shift dramatically if the Gunners decide to step up their interest.

There are still faint hopes of securing the signature of Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak this month. However, considering his hefty price tag, it seems the Swede is set to remain in the North East.