Martinelli sets the record straight as the truth of his duel against Liverpool ace comes to light

English media have circulated a misquote from Gabriel Martinelli to imply a dig against Liverpool vice-captain Trent Alexander-Arnold

The media continue their agenda against Liverpool vice-captain Trent Alexander-Arnold by circulating false quotes from Arsenal forward Gabriel Martinelli. Liverpool lost 3-1 to Arsenal in the Premier League clash at Emirates Stadium on Sunday after a poor performance.

Martinelli hounded Trent and Ibrahima Konate at the right side of the Reds’ defence with an impressive performance. Trent has just returned from a knee injury and played over Conor Bradley after the youngster’s father sadly passed away.

Media has used the poor defensive display from Trent as another boost for their long-standing agenda against his defensive skills. Trent’s defending exhibits vulnerability when facing top wingers, yet his overall defensive contributions remain commendable.

Defensive comparison between some of the best right-backs in the Premier League shows under-fire Liverpool star Trent Alexander-Arnold receives unfair treatment from the Media. (Credit: Squawka)

This season, the 25-year-old has 136 ball recoveries and 22 interceptions (h/t Squawka) in the Premier League so far. Nevertheless, the media has continued their agenda to nitpick every defensive issue that Trent faces, creating a psychological problem.

This psychological issue helps the opposition to pinpoint the right flank as the source of weakness for the Reds’ defence. Conviction and continuous pressure play a critical role in the situation, helping players of Martinelli’s quality.

Multiple media like the Mirror wrote articles claiming “Martinelli aimed a dig at Trent” while misquoting his statement. Many football pundits have used the narrative to keep the conversation around Trent’s defensive abilities, ignoring numerous factors. The misquote that has circulated in social media and by many big news sources are:

“We knew that was the area of the pitch that we could get something from. Me personally I always do well against Liverpool.”

However, the actual statement from Martinelli while talking to NBC (h/t YouTube) after the match is:

“Yeah, I mean in every game we know what we need to do and the areas we need to go and attack and the coach and the coaching staff, they always give things [instructions] to us.”

He added that Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta did not give any special instruction to target Trent. He said:

“No. To be fair he [Arteta] didn’t say anything like that but we know our quality and we know our team and we know that area of the pitch that we could get something from”

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Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has used Trent as an inverted fullback while deploying him centrally in many games. Given the psychological problem that media has created and the incredible performances Trent has delivered as a number-six, it is likely that he will shift permanently to the centre.