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Arsenal forward Gabriel Martinelli lauded Liverpool and Brazil goalkeeper Alisson Becker for his towering presence on the field.
Alisson has been absolutely phenomenal for the Reds since joining the club from AS Roma back in 2018. He has made 204 appearances for the Reds, keeping 93 clean sheets.
Alisson has also been Jurgen Klopp's undisputed first choice this season, making 20 appearances and keeping seven clean sheets.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Martinelli lauded his compatriot. While they are direct rivals in the Premier League, they are friends in the national team. Martinelli said (via Liverpool Echo):
"He's so good. When I went to the national team last time, when we played against when we played against Japan and South Korea, I remember when we were in training and I came one-v-one with him and it's so difficult, he's so big."
Arsenal and Brazil forward Gabriel Jesus agreed with Martinelli's assessments, as he said:
"I have played against Alisson in Brazil and he is so difficult. Two times I went against him one-v-one and he defended my shots. They were good shots and he defended them because Alisson is so big. Brazil have really good keepers, even with Everton [Soares] in Brazil, he is so good. We are lucky to have them."
Alisson is expected to be Brazil's first-choice goalkeeper for the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup as well.
The Selecao are set to start their campaign against Serbia on November 25. They will face Switzerland and Cameroon on November 28 and December 3 respectively.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta reflected on his team's season so far
Arsenal managed a 2-0 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers in their last game ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup on November 12. With the win, the Gunners managed to keep a five-point gap between them and Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table.
Speaking to the media after the game, Mikel Arteta was asked to reflect on his team's season so far. He said:
"I need a week or so to do that. Obviously, nobody expected us to be where we are right now and the amount of games that we have managed to win, but I am more focused on our way of playing and our way of living together, the atmosphere that we have in this dressing room and around Colney and what we have generated with our supporters in our stadium and the relationship between every member of the club and that’s much more powerful, and my job is to focus after on playing better every game."
Arsenal will host West Ham United on Boxing Day after the FIFA World Cup break.
