Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has revealed Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta likened Gabriel Martinelli to Liverpool legend Luis Suarez.
Martinelli was one of the stars of the show as the Gunners beat Liverpool 3-2 at the Emirates Stadium to announce themselves as genuine Premier League title contenders.
That result put 14 points between Arsenal and last season’s Premier League runners-up with Arteta’s side reclaiming top spot from defending champions Manchester City.
Martinelli opened the scoring early on at the Emirates Stadium against Liverpool and gave Trent Alexander-Arnold a torrid time for the half the England international was on the pitch.
And Ferdinand insists Arsenal boss Arteta told him “a couple of years ago” that Martinelli would develop into a “special” player and likened him to Suarez, who scored 82 goals in 133 matches for Liverpool.
Ferdinand told his Vibe with FIVE YouTube channel: “I love Martinelli, love him. I saw Arteta a couple of years ago, at Bournemouth away, and Martinelli was just coming through.
“I said to him, ‘What’s he like man? He looks good to me. I like the look of this kid.’
“And he went, ‘He’s going to be special’. I asked him what type of player he is, who is he like, and he said, ‘There’s a bit of Suarez in there’. And I was like ‘That’s enough for me, he’s gonna be a problem’.
“He’s a bad player, he was the wrong ingredient for Trent [Alexander-Arnold] when he’s searching for confidence. The wrong ingredient. He did not need that!”
Ferdinand thinks something “smells different” at Arsenal at the moment and is backing Arteta to lead them to a very successful season.
The former Man Utd defender added: “We’ve always sat here and there’s been moments over the last few years, since Wenger really, where we’ve gone, ‘They look like they’re onto something… oh no they’re not, they fell again’.
“But this smells different. I must admit, this smells different. And I wish Arteta the best of luck because I like the way he carries himself, I like him, and I really like watching the Arsenal team now I’ve got to say. Martinelli and Saka and Jesus, I love them.”
On summer signing Gabriel Jesus, Ferdinand continued: “He could have sat at City and just won trophy after trophy, but he’s gone to Arsenal where he’s upped their levels I think. And he’s an important member of that team. Not that he wasn’t important at City but he’s…
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