Gabriel Martinelli believes Arsenal have inherent belief and will continue to grow in confidence after defending Manchester City in the Premier League this past weekend.

Prior to Pep Guardiola’s team reeling them in to win a third consecutive title, the Gunners appeared poised to win the Premier League for the first time in nearly 20 years in 2022–23.

But on Sunday, Arsenal defeated City in the league for the first time since 2015, building on their victory over the treble winners in the Community Shield shootout.

After missing three weeks due to a hamstring injury, Martinelli came on as a halftime substitute and scored a late winner that was deflected in off Nathan Ake to secure a 1-0 victory.

“We know how hard it is to play against them,” the 22-year-old Brazil international said. “It was a great performance from the team and a great win.

“Of course (it gives us more belief we can win this season’s title). We are Arsenal and we are always believing about the title.

“To win against a big side like them is great and we just need to carry on.”

With eight victories in a row, Arsenal is second in the table behind Tottenham in terms of goals scored.

“When you play for Arsenal you have to always believe and this is what we do,” Martinelli said, as the club target their first Premier League title since 2004.

“We play for Arsenal and we always believe we can win the titles.

“It’s another year. We’re going to try to improve things and try to do better than last year.”