goon Some of his best performances have been against City and Liverpool.
There is a reason why he (and Saka for that matter) get singled out by Guardiola and Klopp both in they way they set up their teams against us and in the comments about the player themselves.
Klopp after his first appearance against them in the League Cup
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. He's really unbelievable. So young, looks so mature already, is a proper threat.
Klopp on Martinelli midway in January 2022
Martinelli, by the way, everyone should remember that name. Outstanding player.
Klopp on Martinelli midway through last season
Martinelli, very early on I was excited about him. He’s become exactly the player I expected. He deserves everything coming his way
Guardiola after their FA Cup win against us
"We managed well, but of course Martinelli is an incredible weapon.
Guardiola at the end of last season
‘I learnt this season when you play against Bukayo Saka, Vinicius Junior, Gabriel Martinelli or Mohamed Salah, you need proper defenders to win duels one-on-one. They need just one action to beat you.'
Things might be going all his way right now, whether in terms of minutes on the pitch, take ons and finishing just being a bit off, or with having to rebuild his game to fit into a differently structred team. But he never lets his head down or goes into a shell with self doubt.
He'll get back and adapt to however it is we end up deciding to set up. His talent is there for everyone to see, and with the determination he has, I'm not in the slightest bit worried about him other than how to get him in the team as frequently as possible.
Might be a pretty unpopular take, but I don't see much between Saka and Martinelli. Saka is one of oir best players, but so is Martinelli. You have to remember that our game has changed to be much slower to buildup and also that Martinelli has had a revolving door of Left 8s and LBs playing with him. Saka has had Odegaard and White who play every game. It needs time to get a proper relationship built up with players who are constantly being changed. Numbers wise Martinelli doesn't takes penalties, corners or freekicks and plays a fair bit fewer minutes so he'll probably always be behind Saka on total G/A, but fix the other issues and he'll start killing teams again.
Before anyone comes for me, this isn't to be a negative on Saka, more as a positive to Martinelli and I'm just so glad we have two of the best wide players in the league, who are so young that they'll be tearing it up for us for the next decade hopefully.
