Weekend Review: Martinelli magic sees Arsenal ascend the table 

A Super Sunday laden with draws in the Premier League was music to the bookies’ ears while Arsenal handed Manchester City their third defeat on the trot.

Saturday saw punters push ahead after wins, albeit laboured ones, for Spurs, Manchester United and Chelsea, getting the weekend off to a strong start.

Sunday began in much better fashion for the layers, with both Liverpool (21/10) and Newcastle United (21/20) going behind in their early kick-off games at Brighton (9/4) and West Ham United (5/2), respectively.

Quickfire goals from Mo Salah turned things around for the Reds on the south coast before a Lewis Dunk strike saw the shares spoiled on the seaside. 

Mohammed Kudus blighted the party for the Geordies, who, fresh from their demolition of PSG in mid-week, went ahead through a brace from Alexander Isak but had to settle for a point in the capital. 

High-flying Aston Villa (21/20) were also held at Wolves (5/2) to complete a trio of favourable results for the bookies. 

Bet365’s Steve Freeth said: “It was a Sunday that ebbed and flowed, but thankfully, we finished on the right side of a hugely entertaining afternoon. 

“To start with, we had built big liabilities on all four favourites winning away from home and even bigger ones on them winning with both teams scoring. 

“If they were to win, then we’d prefer them not winning from behind, so there were a few ‘here we go again’ comments in the trading room when Liverpool and Newcastle went behind before going in front, and when Villa equalised after going a goal down at Molineux.

“Fortunately, Lewis Dunk and Mohammed Kudus rode to our rescue, and Wolves kept Villa at bay, leaving us with three draws.”

In the big game on Sunday, Arsenal secured their first win over Manchester City since 2015 thanks to a late deflected Gabriel Martinelli strike which sent the Gunners level on points, with Tottenham at the top of the table, and dished out City’s third defeat in a row in all competitions. 

The low-scoring affair, coupled with the fact Erling Haaland continues to suffer from an uncharacteristic goal drought, closed out the weekend positively for the layers.

Kindred Group’s Ali Gill commented: “Overall, a good weekend for us to head off into the international break, with one result in particular doing the business. Despite recent ‘struggles’ (in only the ‘City’ sense of the word), City was the side that punters got behind in the big one on Sunday. 

“On top of that, goals were expected, with a certain Norwegian striker carrying a significant amount of bet slips. So all told, a 1-0 Arsenal win, no goals line, and barely a sniff for Haaland meant almost the perfect result for layers to head off into the break.”

Betway’s Chad Yeomans added: “There was a real possibility in Sunday’s Premier League fixtures that all four games would end as stalemates and delight our football traders.  Only Gabriel Martinelli’s dramatic late winner for Arsenal stopped the quadruple and gave the bettors something to cheer about.”

The result at the Emirates has seemingly opened up the title race, as Betfred’s Alan Firkins explained to EGR: “Overall, late winners for Manchester United and Arsenal didn’t do us any favours, and the ecstatic red part of North London are into 4/1 to take City’s Premier League crown. The misfiring Mancs are now 4/6, then it’s 11/2 Liverpool, 10/1 Spurs, and a whopping 40/1 bar.”

One lucky punter on the Betfair exchange managed to scoop up £264,712.40 from a £50 13-fold accumulator.

The weekend of draws continued on the continent as La Liga proved to be a good hunting ground for the bookies. 

Barcelona (2/5) were held 2-2 away at Granada (6/1), with the scoreline replicated between Celta Vigo (19/20) and Getafe (3/1), as well as Sevilla (4/5) and Rayo Vallecano (17/5).

There were punter-friendly results as Real Madrid (1/4) thrashed Osasuna (11/1) 4-0, and Atletico Madrid (19/20) squeaked past Real Sociedad (3/1) 2-1 at the Wanda Metrapolitano. 

Francisco Cano, head of trading at LiveScore Group, said: “Sunday also saw great results, with three drawn matches and an excellent 1-0 victory for Arsenal over Manchester City. The lack of corners and shots on target in that game, our biggest match of the weekend, helped to improve our margin even further. It is also worth noting that five out of 10 La Liga matches also ended in draws, resulting in an excellent margin from this league as well.”

Bet365’s Freeth added: “Our two Goals Ahead Early Payout offer was seen to good effect in a number of games with teams like Inter, Lyon, Rayo Vallecano and Granada going two goals ahead before being pegged back, but it was a weekend that belonged to the bookmakers.”

Meanwhile, the horseracing action favoured the layers at Ascot on Saturday as, in the Challenge Cup, Atrium (25/1) beat the well-backed Popmaster by a nose to clinch the race for trainer Charlie Fellowes. The same couldn’t be said for the bookies at Newmarket as the Chariot Stakes went the way of the favourite, Inspiral (10/11). 

Gill remarked: “At Ascot on Saturday, a layer-friendly result in the Challenge Cup as 25/1 shot Atrium beat the fairly well-backed Popmaster by a nose. With the favourite very disappointing out in the back, that one left us nicely ahead. 

“However, the Sun Chariot Stakes over at Newmarket went to the very impressive 10/11 favourite Inspiral under Frankie Dettori, a combination unlikely to bode well for layers, and that was a result that lined punters pockets.”

Elsewhere, the Rugby World Cup closed out the pool stage in France over the weekend, and with the shock exit of Australia, the business end of the tournament will have punters licking their lips.

Some tasty ties in the quarter-finals next week have been lined up, including hosts France facing off against South Africa and a seemingly unstoppable Ireland meeting the All Blacks.

Yeomans said: “In rugby, this weekend saw the completion of the pool phase at the World Cup in France. There were no huge surprises in the teams that advanced to the quarter-finals apart from Australia not making the last eight and heading to the airport.

“Ireland’s emphatic win over Scotland by 36-14 has led to huge support for them to finally lift the Webb Ellis cup at the end of the month and we have been forced to make them joint favourites with France now at 3/1,” he added.

Looking ahead to next weekend’s sporting action, the Super League Grand Final takes place at Old Trafford on Saturday between the Catalan Dragons and the Wigan Warriors. 

Firkins added: “The Betfred Super League Grand Final takes place on Saturday at Old Trafford as the Wigan Warriors take on Catalans Dragon. We see the 80-minute match betting as Wigan 4/7, Catalans 6/4 and the tie 18/1. It should be a cracker, and Sky will have live coverage.”