Martinelli questioned as fans fear star made ‘title-defining’ mistake

Some football fans believe that Arsenal star Gabriel Martinelli threw away a chance for his side to beat Liverpool on Sunday. The winger spearheaded a fierce counterattack with just minutes left on the clock but was unable to put the Gunners in front and they were forced to leave Anfield with a solitary point.

Mikel Arteta’s side looked like they were going to cruise to victory in Merseyside and overcome their poor record against Liverpool after just 30 minutes. Martinelli opened the scoring after just eight minutes when he latched onto a poor clearance from Virgil van Dijk to poke the ball past the onrushing Alisson Becker and send the away supporters into a frenzy.

Gabriel Jesus then capitalised on his side’s dominance with a neat header from close range just before the half-hour mark, before Mohamed Salah got one back on the stroke of half time. The Egyptian then missed a penalty before drama ensued after Roberto Firmino equalised in the 87th minute.

Liverpool dominated the latter stages of the match and looked likely to snatch a winner until Arsenal launched a dangerous counterattack just seconds after Aaron Ramsdale had come to the rescue with several incredible saves.

The Gunners had a three-on-one, with Martinelli released down the left, Leandro Trossard racing clear on his outside and Bukayo Saka pulling into space on his right. Andrew Robertson had no choice but to stay central in order to cover both runners, though he had no reason to fear as Martinelli’s pass to Saka was markedly overhit and Alisson raced out of his box to clear.

Responding to a clip of the chance on Twitter, one supporter wrote: “Martinelli has to time that pass, that could be title-defining.” Another added: “Martinelli’s poor pass to Saka at the end cost us three points.”