Liverpool have been urged to try and sign Arsenal star Gabriel Martinelli less than a week after the Brazilian international ran riot against the Reds.
Martinelli delivered a man of the match performance against Jurgen Klopp's men during the Gunners 3-2 win at the Emirates last Sunday, giving Trent Alexander-Arnold quite the headache before the right-back went off injured at half-time. More recently, ex-Reds striker Emile Heskey has confessed he would love to see his former side try and sign him.
The 21-year-old Arsenal wide-man has four goals and two assists to his name so far this term, playing a starring role in the Gunners rapid rise to the top of the Premier League table having won eight of their opening nine league games.
Martinelli's performances, perhaps his goal inside the opening 58 seconds against Liverpool, have clearly caught the eye of Heskey who feels Klopp should "definitely" try to pursue the Arsenal star as speculation grows over his chances of penning a new deal at the Emirates.
"I can’t see Arsenal letting Gabriel Martinelli go any time soon, but he’d definitely be someone I would be looking at if I was Liverpool," the ex-England striker told Ladbrokes.
"If you look at that aggression in his game, and the way he’s played so far this season, there aren’t many out there with his ability. He’s up and down the pitch, non-stop, for 90 minutes. He’s got the ability to drive at players, pull them in and out of positions.
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"He’s confident and comfortable on the ball to a point where, as a defender, you aren’t quite sure whether he’s going to have a shot, put a cross in or take you on. He’s a fantastic player, and someone who everyone would love to play with and hate to play against. He gives you no time whatsoever."
Klopp himself has hardly kept his admiration of Martinelli a secret, in fact it has become a strange sort of tradition for the Liverpool manager to wax lyrical about the Brazilian after each meeting between the two teams.
Speaking after a thrilling 5-5 Carabao Cup draw against the Gunners in 2019, Klopp said: "Martinelli’s pretty much the same age [as Liverpool defender Sepp Van De Berg] but he’s a talent of the century, he’s an incredible striker, so it’s really difficult. It was not in this game only. I watch a lot of football, so I saw the Europa League games of Arsenal.
"He’s 18 years old, right? So our scouting department is all over the world and stuff like this, but I think Edu gets all the credit for that signing – he came from… wherever. He’s really unbelievable. So young, looks so mature already, is a proper threat."
Klopp echoed that sentiment after Liverpool's 2-0 victory at the Emirates at the back end of last season when he dubbed Martinelli a "really talented boy".
Arsenal shouldn't be too concerned as of yet, with Martinelli's most recent update making clear where his heart is currently at in regards to his club future with two years left to run on his current Gunners deal.
"I think it’s my best season here at Arsenal. I’m so happy for this moment. Of course, I want to stay. We are talking. Let’s see what is going to happen. But I want to stay, of course."
His comments are a blow to Heskey's hopes of an audacious Liverpool transfer.
