Gabriel Martinelli came off the bench and scored an exquisite volley with his first touch as Arsenal ran out 2-0 winners over Newcastle United in the Premier League
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Arsenal v Newcastle United: Match in Pictures
Cesc Fabregas heaped praise on Gabriel Martinelli after the Arsenal forward scored a sublime goal to secure three points against Newcastle United on Saturday afternoon.
The forward, 20, found the back of the net a matter of seconds after he was introduced in the second half, with the Gunners leading 1-0 thanks to Bukayo Saka’s opener.
Martinelli was introduced after Saka went down clutching his knee and scored with his first touch, a brilliant, deft finish over Martin Dubravka from Takehiro Tomiyasu’s clipped pass.
The Brazilian’s composed effort to lift the ball over the goalkeeper on the volley sent the Emirates wild, and it was also well received by fans and players on social media.
Ex-Arsenal midfielder Fabregas hailed the youngster on Twitter, writing: “What a goal. Really difficult finish.”
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The Spain legend added a fire emoji for good measure, while he has previously picked out Martinelli as the player in the Arsenal squad he would most like to line up alongside.
Fabregas also praised Martinelli’s teammate Nuno Tavares for his role in Saka’s goal.
Mikel Arteta chose to start Tavares at left-back ahead of Kieran Tierney and the Portugal youth international, 21, rewarded this decision with the assist for the opening goal.
He marauded down the left flank throughout the match and took up threatening positions, eventually combining with Emile Smith Rowe to thread Saka through.
Tavares’ fine display at the Emirates came after Arsenal legend Martin Keown criticised the decision to start him instead of Tierney.
The former centre-back was discussing Arsene Wenger’s potential return to the north London club when he suggested Arteta made a mistake by starting Tavares and midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga.
Keown told BT Sport : “I wonder whether he (Wenger) might’ve said to him (Arteta), ‘why are you not playing Tierney this week?’
“I wonder if he would’ve said, ‘why is Lokonga playing?’
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“I admire that Arteta wants to stick with players – I’m not saying he’s blinkered – and says, ‘I believe in you enough to play you again.’ It’s very unfortunate for Tierney because he’s one of Arsenal’s best players.”
Meanwhile, Arsenal had little trouble seeing out the remaining minutes and posed a constant threat on the counter-attack as Newcastle committed more men forward.
The result means the Gunners will end the weekend fifth in the Premier League ahead of Thursday’s trip to Manchester United.
Conversely, Newcastle remain winless and bottom of the table before hosting Norwich City on Tuesday.
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