Mikel Arteta has insisted that Gabriel Martinelli had “zero intention” of making Conor Bradley‘s situation worse, after the Brazilian pushed Liverpool’s right-back while down injured.
In added time, Bradley went as he injured his knee on the touchline. The nearby Martinelli then threw the ball at the 22-year-old before nudging him with his knee and pushing Bradley, who was in severe discomfort.
Martinelli’s Bradley push: A quick look
• Arteta’s defence: The Arsenal boss insisted Gabriel Martinelli had “zero intention” of causing harm when pushing the injured Conor Bradley.
• Liverpool anger: Dominik Szoboszlai reacted, saying player health is “much more important” than winning the game.
• Injury update: Bradley left the pitch on a stretcher with a knee injury; Arne Slot expressed his distaste for the Brazilian’s actions.
This understandably caused an angry reaction to the Brazilian’s actions, though Arteta has since told Sky Sports that Martinelli has “zero intention” of doing anything bad.
The Arsenal manager said: “Probably he doesn’t know because knowing Gabi (Martinelli), he has zero intention.
“I don’t know what happened to Conor but hopefully it is not bad. Obviously it is not intentional from Gabi to do anything bad to him.”
LONDON, ENGLAND - Thursday, January 8, 2026: Liverpool's Conor Bradley receives treatment during the FA Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Liverpool FC at the Emirates Stadium. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
While Martinelli mightn’t have intended to injure Bradley further, his reaction was still unacceptable, especially from a player who has himself suffered a serious knee injury in the past.
Dominik Szoboszlai was also asked for his reaction to the incident, the Hungarian saying: “I see that Conor twisted his knee – I don’t know what is going on with him.
“Obviously he didn’t want to come back to the pitch to time-waste or something.
“He just had so much pain that he couldn’t even think where he rolled. And then you come there to push him there off the pitch.
“I understand you want to win, we want to win as well, but I think that the health of the player is much more important than something else.”
Arne Slot added: “I don’t like to see one of my players being moved when they could have such a great injury.”
Dominik Szoboszlai: Liverpool took “a step forward”
LONDON, ENGLAND - Thursday, January 8, 2026: Liverpool's head coach Arne Slot and Dominik Szoboszlai (L) after the FA Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Liverpool FC at the Emirates Stadium. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
While Liverpool didn’t come away with a win, they at least played better than in previous weeks against the best team in the league.
They limited Arsenal to zero shots on target after the break and had 65 percent of the possession in the second half.
Szoboszlai thought Liverpool took “a step forward,” saying: “We showed again that even against a team who is top of the table we can compete, and that’s [what] we will take with us for the next weeks.”
“Of course it is not easy to play here against such a great team, but I think none of the teams like to run against the ball in the Premier League, especially when two teams play with such big quality.
“So in the first half we tried to keep the ball as much as we could and the second half, the same. I think the second half a little, but more in the first half than in the second half.
“Hardly created chances, but I think if I have a better day then I have a couple of better shots.”