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LONDON: Gabriel Martinelli’s 93rd minute equalizer saved Arsenal’s Premier League title bid from a damaging defeat to Manchester City, while Aston Villa remain winless after a limp 1-1 draw at 10-man Sunderland.
The Gunners were heading to a second defeat in five Premier League games due to Erling Haaland’s early strike on the counter-attack for City.
Martinelli came off the bench to score for the second time in a week to salvage a 1-1 draw, but both sides lost more ground to Premier League leaders Liverpool.
Arsenal went second, five points behind the champions, while City are eight points off the top in ninth.
“Very disappointed not to win,” said Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said. “I think we played better than last year when we beat them (5-1).”
Arteta’s men had not conceded from open play in their first five Premier League and Champions League games this season, but were opened up on nine minutes by the scintillating form of arguably the world’s best striker.
Haaland started the move deep inside his own half with a lay-off to Tijjani Reijnders and then sprinted upfield to receive the Dutch international’s pass before coolly slotting beyond David Raya.
The Norwegian already has 13 goals for club and country in just eight games this season.
At the other end, City are reaping immediate dividends from the signing of giant Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Noni Madueke’s powerful near post strike was repelled by Donnarumma in what was Arsenal’s best attempt in a flat first-half performance.
Mikel Arteta threw on the creative talents of Bukayo Saka and Eberechi Eze at the start of the second period.
Eze tested Donnarumma once more but the Gunners struggled to break down City’s massed ranks of defense, with Guardiola even sacrificing Haaland and Phil Foden in the second half to bolster his back line.
However, that gamble backfired when Martinelli galloped onto Eze’s ball over the top and looped a fantastic finish over Donnarumma.
“We don’t try to be like this but when the opponent is better we defend deeper and counter-attack,” said Guardiola.

- Villa lose ‘identity’ -

Villa’s rise over recent years under the tutelage of Unai Emery has ground to a halt as they remain in the bottom three with just three points from their opening five games.
Emery’s men could barely have asked for a better opportunity to end their wait for victory after Sunderland defender Reinildo Mandava was shown a red card on 33 minutes for kicking out at Matty Cash.
Villa had failed to score in their previous four league games but did finally break that drought when Cash tried his luck from long range and Sunderland goalkeeper Robin Roefs was deceived by the power and swerve on the full-back’s strike.
The lead lasted just eight minutes, though, as Wilson Isidor pounced on Granit Xhaka’s header forward for his third goal in as many games at the Stadium of Light in the Premier League.
“It should have been easier to take advantage (against 10 men) but we were not playing with our identity, with the ideas we have been building in the last three years,” said Emery.
Sunderland have made a great start to their quest to end the run of promoted sides being relegated straight back to the Championship.
The Black Cats sit seventh after losing only one of their opening five fixtures.
Newcastle are also struggling for goals in the absence of the departed Alexander Isak.
Eddie Howe’s men have drawn all three of their away games this season 0-0 and would have been happy just to come away from Bournemouth with a point after a short turnaround from their 2-1 Champions League defeat to Barcelona on Thursday.

DUBAI: Opener Abhishek Sharma hit a blazing 74 as India beat Pakistan by six wickets and again refused to shake hands with their opponents in the Super Four clash of the Asia Cup on Sunday.

Chasing 172 for victory, India rode on a 105-run opening stand between the left-handed Abhishek and Shubman Gill, who made 47, to achieve their target with seven balls to spare in Dubai.

The rivals came into the contest of the regional tournament with tensions high after India angered Pakistan by also refusing to shake hands when the pair met in the group stage.

Tempers flared on the field when Gill and Shaheen Afridi exchanged simmering glances after the batter hit the pace bowler for a boundary.

Both Abhishek and Gill came out roaring with a flurry of boundaries to unsettle the Pakistan attack as they raced to 101-0 in 9 overs.

Abhishek and Haris Rauf kept up the spice with a fiery exchange.

“Today was pretty simple, the way they were coming out to us without any reason, I did not like it at all,” Abhishek said after being named player of the match.

“That’s why I went after them. I wanted to deliver for the team.”

Medium-pace bowler Faheen Ashraf bowled Gill, and Rauf in the next over took down skipper Suryakumar Yadav for a duck to check India’s surge.

Abhishek fell to Abrar Ahmed’s leg spin after his 35-ball blitz laced with six fours and five sixes.

Rauf took one more wicket but Tilak Varma, with his unbeaten 30 off 19 balls, steered the team home off a six and a four.

The Indian batters quickly left the field while Pakistan players shook hands among themselves.

“We are yet to play a perfect game, but we are getting there,” said Pakistan captain Salman Agha. “A great game but in the powerplay (first six overs) they took the game away from us.”

- Gun celebration -

India won the toss and fielded first, but Pakistan came out attacking as Sahibzada Farhan, who hit 58, and Saim Ayub, who made 21, put on 72 runs for the second wicket, to help their team reach 171-5.

Fakhar Zaman opened with Farhan and started aggressively in his nine-ball 15 before being caught behind.

Farhan kept up the charge as he hit five fours and three sixes in his 45-ball knock as he reached his fifty with a six and celebrated by using his bat to mimmick a gun.

India hit back with three wickets, including Farhan who was dismissed by medium-pace bowler Shivam Dube, as Pakistan slipped to 115-4.

Mohammad Nawaz made 21 before he was run out.

Agha, on 17, and Faheem Ashraf, with 20 off eight balls, struck 22 between them to boost the total.

Dube stood out with figures of 2-33, but Indian fielders had a day to forget as they dropped four catches.

India beat Pakistan in their group match, which was the first cricketing clash between the rival nations since a four-day cross-border conflict in May left more than 70 people dead.

Andy Pycroft turned out as match referee for the Super Four match in spite of Pakistan lodging a protest with the International Cricket Council, alleging that the Zimbabwean had told Agha not to approach Suryakumar for a handshake.

The Pakistan Cricket Board demanded that Pycroft be removed from their matches and threatened to withdraw from the eight-team T20 competition.

Because of fraught political ties, nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan only meet at neutral venues during multi-team tournaments.

Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are the other teams in the Super Four. The top two will move into the final on September 28.