Positive ending vs City must energise Arteta's Arsenal squad ahead of trips to Port Vale and Newcastle 

Arsenal need to use the positive ending to the Man City game to energise us for away trips to Port Vale and Newcastle this week

Gabi Martinelli’s injury time moment of magic rescues what could prove to be a vital point against Manchester City as trips to Port Vale and Newcastle loom

Here are three things that stood out for Ian Mills this week.

1 - Martinelli stakes his claim for a starting berth:

Having come off the bench to grab his second crucial goal in five days, Gabi Martinelli has played himself firmly back into Mikel Arteta’s  plans.

The Brazilian latched onto Eberechi’s Eze superb pass, took the ball under control with his first touch and then lofted a superb finish over Giunluigi Donnarumma with his second in the third minute of injury time.

His pace has contributed to both his goals in the last few days and is a major asset.

A confident Martinelli is a real handful for any defence.  He now needs to repeat and maintain this form on a consistent basis.

2 - Arteta’s half time changes show he got his starting line-up wrong:

Arteta’s conservative approach for a ‘big game’ was in evidence again as he resisted the temptation to start the same front three of Noni Madueke, Viktor Gyokeres and Eze and also kept Ethan Nwaneri on the bench.

He instead started with the defensive minded trio of Declan Rice, Martin Zubimendi and Mikel Merino. Rice and Merino have won just one Premier League game from ten when paired together in midfield.

This felt like a game that we needed to take to City from the off and our opponents seemed buoyed by our defensive approach.

Their early goal further strengthened their belief, and they reached half time in control of this game.

Bukayo Saka’s very welcome return to the fold and Eze’s introduction helped us gain more possession yet despite an Eze effort that was well saved by Donnarumma, we still struggled to create anything until injury time.

Had we started with a more ambitious line up, the match may have played out in a more positive manner. In other words Mikel – please release the handbrake!

3 - A big week ahead for the whole squad ahead of Port Vale and Newcastle: 

While it was frustrating to drop two points it was almost much, much worse.

In the circumstances it was a point gained and hopefully that will prove to be a crucial point come May.

We now need to use the positive ending to the game to energise us for two away matches this week.

First up is Port Vale in the Third Round of the Carabao Cup.  

With such a big squad there are plenty of players who need playing time and surely the starting eleven on Wednesday will feature the likes of Kepa, Ben White, Piero Hincapie, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Christian Norgaard and Ethan Nwaneri.

We need to get the right result to then take into what has become something of a bogey fixture for us – Newcastle United away on Sunday.

We have a big squad for a reason, and they will all be required to play their part if the season is to end with some much needed silverware.