“Unbelievable” – Arsenal’s under the radar summer transfer draws praise from Jurgen Klopp

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has heaped praise on Arsenal’s Brazilian signing Gabriel Martinelli following some impressive performances.

The Reds boss has been impressed with the work done by the London club and their technical director Edu after they signed the 18-year-old in the summer.

Gabriel Martinelli at Arsenal: Five things to know…

• Martinelli was subject to a lot of interest this summer.
• He eventually joined the Gunners for £6m from Ituano.
• He was initially signed as a player for the future but has become a regular at the Emirates.
• Martinelli has played eight times for the Gunners so far, scoring seven goals.
• Liverpool manager Klopp called the Brazilian “really unbelievable”.

Martinelli has been a revelation since joining Arsenal. Relatively unheard of before signing, the Brazilian has become an important player for the Gunners even though he is only 18 years old.

He has netted seven goals in eight appearances so far, including back-to-back braces in the EFL Cup against Nottingham Forest and Liverpool.

It was in the game against the Reds that he caught Klopp’s attention, with the German suggesting he was the “talent of the century”.

Asked about his remarks regarding the youngster, Klopp told Brazilian television show Esporte Interativo: “It was not in this game only. I watch a lot of football, so I saw the Europa League games of Arsenal.

“He’s 18 years old, right? So our scouting department is all over the world and stuff like this, but I think Edu gets all the credit for that signing – he came from… wherever.

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“He’s really unbelievable. So young, looks so mature already, is a proper threat. Yeah, he looks like a really decent player.

“But I didn’t want to put any backpack [pressure] on his back with this thing [his earlier remarks] but I just really like good football players and obviously he’s a very good one.”

More Premier League minutes for Martinelli?

So far this season, Martinelli has only played three times in the Premier League but with his electric performances in the cups, it may not be long before Unai Emery considers giving the youngster more time in the top-flight.

The Gunners have struggled to put in complete performances in the league which has seen a six-point gap open up between themselves and fourth-place Chelsea.

With Martinelli scoring seven goals, including three braces, in all competitions this season, he is likely to get some more opportunities to show what he can do.

Arsenal face high-flying Leicester at the Emirates next, a side who are also sitting six-points above them.