Mikel Arteta confirms talks with Gabriel Martinelli after Conor Bradley incident
Sky Sports
Mikel Arteta says he will speak with Gabriel Martinelli(Image: Sky Sports)
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Mikel Arteta will “have a word” with Arsenal forward Gabriel Martinelli to understand his controversial reaction to Conor Bradley sustaining what Liverpool fear could be a serious injury. Martinelli kicked the ball against a prone Bradley and then attempted to push the player off the pitch after the Reds defender suffered what appeared knee damage during the fourth minute of injury time in the goalless Premier League draw at the Emirates on Thursday evening.
The incident prompted an angry response from Liverpool’s players with Martinelli and Ibrahima Konate going into the book of referee Anthony Taylor.
But Arteta is convinced his player was not aware of the injury and sent his best wishes to Bradley.
“Knowing Gabi, he’s an incredibly lovely guy and he probably didn’t realise what happened,” said the Arsenal boss. “I hope Conor is well.
“I will have a word with him now to understand that.”
Bradley was closest to breaking the deadlock when an audacious lob struck the crossbar in the first half.
The Reds withstood strong Arsenal pressure during the opening quarter and went on to dominate the second half.
And assessing the match, Arteta said: “We wanted to win the game. In the first half we were much closer to that, we arrived in situations where you have to pick someone in the box.
“The movement was there, the arrival was there but we needed to occupy a different space.
Against Villa we were excellent with that and today we were not able to do that.
“In the second half we struggled to dominate the game, we gave some very unnecessary balls away and they started to drop everyone behind the ball.”
Arteta, whose team remain six points clear at the Premier League summit, added: “I don’t think they had a single shot on target tonight. We were so disciplined, we didn’t concede anything against the champions.
“Every time you don’t win it feels like a missed opportunity. I have to praise the team as the demands of the schedule are unbelievable
“We go again. Thanks so much to the fans for the atmosphere, we are in a really strong position and we have to keep going as we’re really early in the season.”