Gary Neville has stated that Gabriel Martinelli had Trent Alexander-Arnold ‘on toast’ during Liverpool’s 2-0 win at Arsenal on Wednesday night, as he told Sky Sports PL.
‘He’s got a bit of Pires about him’ were the words Neville uttered as Martinelli jinxed past Alexander-Arnold, twice, before nutmegging Jordan Henderson during the game.
Whilst Arsenal would have been deflated by the eight minutes that changed the tide of the game in Liverpool’s direction, one of their standout stars last night was Martinelli.
At just 20-years-old, he is showcasing why he has such a bright future in the game and it won’t be too long before he is one of the top players in the Premier League.
On last night, Neville labelled some of his magical moments as ‘absolutely outstanding’, including his battle with Alexander-Arnold, 23, out on the flanks.
“He has got Alexander-Arnold on toast,” said Neville. “It’s absolutely outstanding from Martinelli.
“What a joy. He goes past Alexander-Arnold again. He has got a bit of the Pires about him. That run was Pires like.”
Whilst this stops Arsenal in their traps because they were on such a good run in their Champions League chase, they can’t afford it to affect them ahead of their weekend encounter.
It’s an early trip to Aston Villa on Saturday lunchtime and they will be expected to put three points on the board.
The difference here is that Arsenal have been used to very little midweek football because they haven’t been in European action this season.
But their clash at Villa Park will be their third game in six days, so it’s going to test more than just the players’ qualities.
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