Asked if the result had increased belief that Arsenal could win the title, Martinelli said: “Yes, of course. We are Arsenal and we are always believing about the title.
“But to win against a big side like them is great. We just need to carry on. We know how hard it is to play against them. It was a great performance from the team.
“When you play for Arsenal you have to always believe and this is what we do: we always believe we can win titles. It’s another year, we’re going to try to improve and do better than last year.”
On the absent Saka, Martinelli added: “We know our potential. We know how important he is for us. We know his potential. We tried to win the game for our fans, for us and for Bukayo as well.”
Martinelli’s first goal of the season came on his return after missing five games with a hamstring injury, with the Brazilian replacing Leandro Trossard at the interval.
And the winner involved all four of Mikel Arteta’s subs, with Thomas Partey and Takehiro Tomiyasu involved before Kai Havertz’s lay-off to Martinelli, whose effort cannoned home off Nathan Ake’s head.
“I think we have more depth [than last season],” Martinelli said. “It was a special day for me. I tried my best to be back with the team and it was a great win.”
