Graeme Souness has warned Liverpool to be wary of the threat Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli will pose ahead of Sunday’s Premier League clash.
Recall that the Gunners currently top the Premier League after winning seven of their first eight fixtures while Liverpool are in ninth place having amassed 10 points from their first seven league games.
However, Souness believes Jurgen Klopp’s men are facing their “biggest test” since the German arrived in 2015.
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The legendary Scottish midfielder also warned his former club that they will need to pay particular attention to Martinelli.
Souness, writing in his column for the Daily Mail, said: “We will see in the next eight days, with the game at Arsenal on Sunday and Manchester City at Anfield next Sunday, how Liverpool’s players deal with the biggest test they have known as a group.
“Gabriel Martinelli will be a big part of the threat to them at the Emirates. He has great feet and looks to me like he’s going to be a real player. Trent Alexander-Arnold will need help from his centre halves and midfielders.”
International career
Martinelli was born in Brazil, and is of Italian descent through his father; he holds dual Brazilian-Italian citizenship. On 20 May 2019, Martinelli was called up by Brazil national team manager Tite to complete preparatory training for the 2019 Copa América. In November 2019, Martinelli appeared for Brazil’s under-23 side at the United International Football Festival in Spain.
On 2 July 2021, Martinelli was named in the Brazil squad for the 2020 Summer Olympics. On 3 August, Martinelli scored Brazil’s second penalty to help defeat Mexico in the Olympic semi-final, before becoming a gold medallist after Brazil defeated Spain in the final four days later.
He was named in the 25-man senior Brazil squad on the 11 March 2022 for the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Chile and Bolivia.Martinelli made his international debut when he came off the bench for Vinícius Júnior to play the last 14 minutes of Brazil’s 4−0 win over Chile at the Maracana Stadium.
