Martinelli Apologises To Conor Bradley After Clash With Liverpool

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Gabriel Martinelli has apologised to Conor Bradley after a late flashpoint overshadowed Arsenal’s goalless Premier League draw with Liverpool at Emirates Stadium, where the result kept Arsenal six points clear at the top but left discussion dominated by the incident involving the injured Liverpool defender.

The controversial moment came deep into second-half stoppage time near the touchline, when Bradley went down after appearing to hurt a knee and remained on the turf, with play still live and both teams pushing for a decisive goal in a match that had produced few clear chances.

Before Liverpool’s medical staff were waved on, Martinelli bounced the ball off Bradley and then tried to move the defender off the pitch to restart play, an action that immediately angered Liverpool players and quickly drew strong criticism from supporters and television pundits watching the Premier League clash.

Bradley was later carried off on a stretcher, and Liverpool manager Arne Slot said there were concerns the full-back, who had earlier struck the crossbar with a powerful effort, might have sustained a serious knee injury, leaving Liverpool waiting on scan results after the Premier League fixture.

Martinelli addressed the incident afterwards with a message on Instagram, writing: "I really didn't understand he was seriously injured in the heat of the moment. I want to say I'm deeply sorry for reacting. Sending Conor all my best again for a quick recovery."

Analysts on Sky Sports, including Gary Neville and Roy Keane, condemned Martinelli’s actions, yet Slot later suggested the Brazil international would not have behaved in that way had Martinelli realised the extent of Bradley’s problem, stressing the incident looked different when viewed with the knowledge of the injury.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta also defended the forward’s character, saying: "[Martinelli] is an incredible, lovely guy. I don't know what happened to Conor, but hopefully it's not bad. Obviously, there is no intention from Gabi to do anything bad to him."

Arsenal’s frustration seemed to feed into Martinelli’s reaction, as the team produced a flat attacking display, failing to seriously trouble Alisson despite registering nine attempts and generating only 0.57 expected goals, while Liverpool did not record a single shot on target in a Premier League match for the first time since March 2010 against Wigan Athletic.

The fixture finished as the first 0-0 Premier League draw between Arsenal and Liverpool since August 2015, ending a run of 20 league meetings that produced 79 goals at an average of 3.95 per match, and leaving this contest remembered more for Bradley’s injury and Martinelli’s apology than for goalmouth action.