Liverpool journalist James Pearce has reacted to Gabriel Martinelli’s ‘nasty’ challenge on Trent Alexander-Arnold during the Premier League game vs Arsenal.

The Lowdown: Five-goal thriller

The Gunners hosted the Reds at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon and secured a 3-2 victory in a thrilling encounter in the capital thanks to goals from Martinelli and Bukayo Saka, who was at the double and got the match-winner from the spot in the final 15 minutes.

One of the most notable moments though was the Brazilian’s challenge on the visitors’ right-back, who appeared to roll his ankle and was substituted at the break as a result.

The Latest: Pearce’s reaction

Taking to Twitter, Pearce insisted that Martinelli’s tackle wasn’t made on purpose, though it did look like a painful one for Alexander-Arnold. He wrote:

“No malice from Martinelli but he trod on his ankle and that looks nasty.”

The Verdict: Underwhelming season

Whilst Liverpool initially did well to pull two goals back before going behind for a third time against an in-form Arsenal side, the start they’ve made to this season has been hugely underwhelming.

The Merseyside outfit have only recorded two wins from eight and currently find themselves tenth in the table, already 14 points off the league leaders in their weekend opponents.

It was another disappointing day at the office for Klopp’s men, but it’s vitally important that they now regroup and turn this form around if they want any chance of securing a top-four place come the end of the campaign.