“As a defender, i hate to play against a player like him, because whenever the ball is his legs, he’s too sharp and will never allow you to breath even for a seconds with his unpredictable movements”- Liverpool star Konate names the Arsenal star that gave Him tough time yesterday- Not Saka, Not Ødegaard and not Havertz
“As a defender, i hate to play against a player like him, because whenever the ball is his legs, he’s too sharp and will never allow you to breath even for a seconds with his unpredictable movements”- Liverpool star Konate names the Arsenal star that gave Him tough time yesterday- Not Saka, Not Ødegaard and not Havertz
Gary Neville was left amazed by the work of Gabriel Martinelli to create an early chance for Bukayo Saka as Arsenal hosted Liverpool on Sunday.
Bukayo Saka did break the deadlock during the first-half at the Emirates. But the youngster will know that he should have done a lot better with an earlier opportunity.
Gabriel Martinelli was played in down the left-hand side. And with Trent Alexander-Arnold out of position, it was Ibrahima Konate who had to try and attack Martinelli.
Gary Neville amazed by the pace of Gabriel Martinelli
However, the Brazilian was able to use all of his pace to fly away from the Liverpool centre-back. He then played a superb cross towards the six-yard box which looked set to be nodded in by Saka. Unfortunately for Mikel Arteta, the winger made poor contact with the cross and headed it wide.
But speaking on Sky Sports (broadcast on 4/2; 16:41), Gary Neville suggested that he was stunned by how well Martinelli did to create the opening for the home side.
“Breathtaking from Martinelli. How has Saka not scored? Trent Alexander-Arnold gambles here, I don’t know why he doesn’t run back with him. But he leaves Konate to deal with it. Well, he tries. That’s all I can say. Martinelli is lightning quick because Konate’s no slouch,” he said.
Arsenal star finding form again
Like all of Arsenal’s attackers, Martinelli has been nowhere near as impressive for the large majority of this season.
However, the 22-year-old appears to be rediscovering some much better form. And that blistering run was a reminder of just how dangerous Martinelli can be for the Gunners.
Liverpool were very fortunate to not fall behind from that attack. And it did seem that both Konate and Alexander-Arnold struggled to deal with the threat Martinelli offered throughout the first 45 minutes at the Emirates in Sunday’s top of the table clash.
