Mikel Arteta defended Gabriel Martinelli after the forward appeared to throw the ball at injured Liverpool defender Conor Bradley during the closing stages of Arsenal’s 0-0 draw against the Premier League champions.
Bradley, who later left the Emirates on crutches with his left knee in a support, went down after falling awkwardly near the touchline and was in some discomfort before Martinelli dropped the ball on him then attempted to manhandle him off the pitch.
It provoked a furious reaction from Liverpool’s players, at the end of a match that had been low on talking points with neither side creating many chances.
Both Martinelli and Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate were booked in the ensuing melee.
Speaking on Sky Sports’ coverage of the game, pundit Roy Keane called Martinelli’s action “a disgrace,” though Arteta appealed for understanding on behalf of his player.
“Knowing Gabi, he’s an incredible, lovely guy,” he said. “He probably didn’t realise what happened. I hope that Conor is well, I will have a word with him to understand that. Probably (Martinelli) didn’t recognise what happened.”
Liverpool boss Arne Slot was downcast about the possible extent of the injury to Bradley, which occurred in the fourth minute of stoppage time at the end of the match as the full-back attempted to clear the ball.
“I fear the worst for Conor Bradley,” he said.
“I don’t know yet but he had to go off on a stretcher. We’ll have to wait on the scans to see if it’s that bad.”
Of Martinelli’s response, he said: “I don’t know Gabriel Martinelli but he comes across as a nice guy. The problem in general in football is that there’s so much time wasting and players pretending to be injured, that you can be annoyed that you think a player is time wasting.
“You cannot expect Martinelli to think so clearly in the 94th minute. I’m a hundred per cent sure that if he knew what the injury might be, he would never do that.”
Arsenal dominated the first half without much troubling Alisson in the Liverpool goal, though the visitors had the best chance of the opening period when Bradley hit the bar following a mix-up between David Raya and William Saliba.
Slot’s team then had the better of things after the break but there never looked like being a winner.
“In the second half, we dominated the ball possession for almost the whole 45 minutes in their half,” he said.
“The only thing that missed maybe from my side was again, for all the ball possession, all the moments around the box, you’re hoping to create even more chances.”
The result keeps Arsenal six points clear at the top of the Premier League after Manchester City and Aston Villa also drew on Wednesday.
Asked whether it had been a missed opportunity to pull clear, Arteta said: “Yes, every time you don’t win. But then we would be 12, 15, 20 points ahead. I have to really praise the team and the players individually for what they’ve done in this Christmas period.
“The demands and the schedule, it’s unbelievable. What they’ve done is remarkable. To come out of this period, with all the issues that we had, in the strong position we are, I think the boys deserve everyone’s recognition.”
