Jurgen Klopp heaps praise on Arsenal youngster, calls him ‘ talent of the century’
Liverpool may have defeated Arsenal in the Carabao Cup, but one of Arsenal’s youngsters left an impression on Jurgen Klopp.
Arsenal fielded a much-changed side just like the home team and played a thrilling 5-5 draw against Liverpool before the Reds prevailed on penalties.
While most of the attention was channelled towards Liverpool’s win and Mesut Ozil’s performance, one player who stood out for Arsenal was Gabriel Martinelli.
The 18 years old Brazilian signed for Arsenal in the summer and has been a revelation. Jurgen Klopp didn’t need to watch him a second time to recognise that he is a real talent.
The Liverpool boss told the club’s official website.
“[Van den Berg] played an incredible game. That’s really difficult to deal with these guys.
“Martinelli’s pretty much the same age but he’s a talent of the century, he’s an incredible striker, so it’s really difficult.
“Then you have Mesut Ozil around and [Joe] Willock right, who scored by the way a really nice one.
“So a team like Arsenal in a counter-attacking mood – we keep them deep, play around them, we lose the ball and then it’s really difficult.”
Martinelli hasn’t started a league game yet but only Aubameyang has netted more times for the team than he has.
With Alexandre Lacazette also back from injury, it may take a while before Martinelli gets his chance. But if he continues to shine in the Europa League, Emery may be forced to draft him into the team.