Gabriel Martinelli has been a regular scourge for Liverpool since joining Arsenal in a £6m deal from Ituano in July 2019.
The Reds are the Brazil international’s favourite opposition, on an individual basis at least, after all.
The 23-year-old has scored five goals from 11 meetings with Liverpool.
Also registering two assists, the Reds are the side he has scored most against and delivered the most overall goal contributions against in his career to date.
While he has only tasted victory against Liverpool twice, he did score in both of the aforementioned wins in October 2022 and February 2024.
Given such exploits against the Reds, it is perhaps no surprise that former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is a big fan of the Brazilian.
The first time the German crossed paths with Martinelli, the forward was only 18 years old.
Yet that didn’t stop him scoring a brace in a 5-5 League Cup draw at Anfield, with Klopp going on to laud the youngster as a "talent of the century".
Klopp
“Martinelli's pretty much the same age (as my young team) but he's a talent of the century, he's an incredible striker, so it's really difficult,”
“He's really unbelievable
"So young, looks so mature already, is a proper threat. Yeah, he looks like a really decent player.
"I didn't want to put any backpack [pressure] on his back with this thing but I just really like good football players and obviously he's a very good one."
Martinelli was proud to be on the receiving end of such praise, telling Marca:
Martinelli
“I feel very proud that one of the best tacticians in the world speaks well of me.”
Klopp in 2022
In 2022 after Liverpool beat Arsenal in the League Cup semi-finals, Klopp said of the Brazilian: "Little Martinelli, we will talk about this player in the future, I can promise. If he is without major injuries, he will have a proper career."
Fast forward a season and with Arsenal having emerged as Premier League title contenders,
Klopp then said of Martinelli: "Martinelli, very early on I was excited about him. He’s become exactly the player I expected. He deserves everything coming his way."
A player who regularly comes up against Trent Alexander-Arnold, the forward has caused the England international problems at times.
But in a previous defence of his former Liverpool vice-captain, Klopp pointed out: "Martinelli is such a talented boy. It's really tricky.”
Yet, the Reds have clearly found a way to get the better of the Brazilian, given their superior record in recent head-to-head meetings, having won five of their 11 encounters.
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