Arsenal: Gabriel Martinelli's brilliant fighting spirit vs Liverpool

Gabriel Martinelli was the toast of the town after Arsenal’s 2-0 defeat to Liverpool on Wednesday night.

While the final score might not have made for great reading if you’re an Arsenal fan, the fact that Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino popped up with second-half goals shouldn’t take away from all the positives on display.

The simple fact of the matter is that the Gunners really took the game to Liverpool and could easily have set the wheels in motion for an upset if it wasn’t for some brilliant goalkeeping from Alisson Becker.

In the end, it wasn’t to be, but Arsenal fans should still take stock of the fact that the club is moving in the right direction under Mikel Arteta – and the performance of Martinelli was a great testament to that.

The new focus on young, energetic and hungry players at Emirates Stadium has felt like a breath of fresh air with the Gunners seldom going a single game without throwing the kitchen sink at their opponents.

And while that do-or-die attitude is channeled through everyone from Emile Smith Rowe to Bukayo Saka, Martinelli is arguably the greatest flag-bearer of all for Arteta’s new wave in north London.

The Brazilian sensation gave Trent Alexander-Arnold a torrid time with his silky skills and intricate dribbling that almost culminated in one of the finest Premier League assists that we’ve seen in a long time.

However, arguably the pièce de résistance of Martinelli’s impressive performance came when he showed exactly the type of desire and fight to keep the ball that both managers and supporters adore.

Having received the ball from Kieran Tierney late in the first-half, Arsenal’s boy wonder was like a dog with a bone in his quest to protect possession from Jordan Henderson, Luis Diaz and