Liverpool midfielder Trey Nyoni was handed a surprise start by Andoni Iraola for Sunday's crunch Premier League clash with Arsenal, though the youngster left hearts in mouths with some early tackles

Liverpool midfielder Trey Nyoni was told that he was "very lucky" not to be sent off in the opening stages of Sunday's Premier League clash with Arsenal after being handed a surprise start by Andoni Iraola.

Nyoni, 19, has been a regular fixture in matchday squads under Iraola this season, but not many would have expected him to be thrown in at the deep end for today's visit of the Gunners to Anfield, with the Spaniard starting him in midfield alongside Alexis Mac Allister.

The Reds academy graduate had started against Chelsea for the Carabao Cup victory in midweek, his fourth start of the season in all competitions, and seemingly did enough to convince Iraola to leave him in against Arsenal.

However, things got off to a shaky start for Nyoni and according to Gary Neville, he could have even found himself dismissed inside the opening 10 minutes after lunging in to a couple of risky tackles.

The first of those came after just one minute of action, as Nyoni clumsily fouled Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard. In any other game or later part of the match, it would have likely been a yellow card, but referee Andy Madley chose to leniently let the teenager off with just a foul.

"He is lucky it is only a minute into the game," said Neville, who is on co-commentary duty for Sky Sports' broadcast of the game at Anfield.

It wouldn't be long before Nyoni committed his second reckless tackle foul, as he chopped down German striker Kai Havertz in the 10th minute following a heavy touch, causing him to mistime his challenge and boot the Arsenal forward.

Again, Nyoni avoided a booking from the referee, a decision that left Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta visibly frustrated on the touchline, as the midfielder once again managed to escape entering the referee's book.

Even Neville felt that Nyoni had gotten lucky once more, even suggesting that the Liverpool youngster was still lucky to be on the field, especially after his latest challenge.

"He got away with the first one and if he gets away with this he is a very lucky boy," Neville said. "Someone needs to get hold of him and tell him to calm down."

Speaking ahead of the game at Anfield, Iraola outlined his decision to start Nyoni and emphasized the club's trust in him, telling Sky Sports: "The thinking is that he's playing very well and we trust him.

"I think he gives us good control on the ball. I think he also understands the game well.

"Without the ball, I think he's smart to deal with all the complications that Arsenal put there in the middle – they start rotating players. I think he's pretty good on those things. We definitely trust Trey to do well."