'Tough': Gabriel Martinelli says Liverpool have a £36m player who is so hard to play against
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Gabriel Martinelli has played against some of the best of the best when it comes to Premier League defenders over the past few years.
The Arsenal star has faced off against the likes of Ruben Dias, Virgil van Dijk and Thiago Silva during his time in the Premier League.
Martinelli is one of the fastest players in the Premier League, and he can often use that pace to get the better of his opponents.
However, sometimes, simply out-running a player isn't an option, and speaking to Men in Blazers, Martinelli has named two very fast defenders as his toughest opponents in the Premier League.
Gabriel Martinelli names Ibrahima Konate as one of his toughest opponents
Martinelli spoke about his toughest opponents, naming Ibrahima Konate as one of the hardest defenders he's ever had to come up against.
Martinelli says that Konate's pace makes him tough to beat along with Kyle Walker.
"Who's the most difficult defender, who is the defender when you get that ball and you face up against them in the Premier League you're like 'God, I might not be able to torch this guy.'" Martinelli was asked.
"Yeah it has to be Walker and Konate from Liverpool, they are both tough to beat," Martinelli said.
How fast is Ibrahima Konate?
Martinelli says that Konate's pace makes him a very difficult opponent, and when you look at the stats, it's easy to see why Martinelli struggles against the Frenchman.
Indeed, the top speed stats show that Konate is able to give Martinelli a run for his money when it comes to pace, while Kyle Walker isn’t quite as quick as he once was.
| Player | Top Speed |
| Ibrahima Konate | 34.21 |
| Kyle Walker | 32.8 |
| Gabriel Martinelli | 33.9 |
Interestingly, despite not enjoying playing against Konate, Martinelli does have a fruitful record when it comes to facing off against Liverpool.
| Gabriel Martinelli record vs Liverpool | |
| Games | 11 |
| Goals | 5 |
| Assists | 2 |
Martinelli has more goal contributions against Liverpool than any other club, so perhaps he doesn't struggle as much against the £36m man as he seems to think he does.
Arsenal and Liverpool are currently embroiled in a title race in the Premier League, and both Martinelli and Konate will have serious parts to play for both their teams in their respective title tilts.
