Arsenal forward Gabriel Martinelli has contacted Conor Bradley over shoving him off the pitch with a serious knee injury, claiming he “really didn’t understand.”
Gabriel Martinelli Fallout: Apology to Conor Bradley
Martinelli’s apology: The Arsenal winger apologised via Instagram, claiming he “really didn’t understand” the severity of Bradley’s injury during the heated 0-0 draw.
ACL fears:Conor Bradley left the Emirates on crutches. Arne Slot admits he “fears the worst,” with a season-ending ACL tear the primary concern.
Pundit backlash: Sky Sports’ Roy Keane labelled Martinelli “a disgrace” for shoving the injured right-back off the pitch while he was writhing in pain.
Martinelli was involved in one of the most shocking acts of unsportsmanship when he reacted to Bradley’s knee injury late on in Thursday’s 0-0 draw between Arsenal and Liverpool.
And just over two hours after full-time, he took to his Instagram story to reveal he had apologised to Bradley and attempted to explain his actions.
“Conor and I have messaged and I’ve already apologised to him,” Arsenal‘s No. 11 wrote.
“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.”
Gabriel Martinelli shove on Conor Bradley: What happened in Arsenal vs. Liverpool?
With the right-back writhing on the turf, the Brazilian first dropped the ball on him, then pushed his knee into him, before furiously shoving him off the pitch in an attempt to continue the game.
The incident left Bradley in further pain and the 22-year-old left the Emirates on crutches with Arne Slot fearing the worst: a torn ACL.
Former Man United midfielder Roy Keane was particularly critical in the Sky Sports studio post-match, labelling Martinelli a “disgrace.”
Martinelli has faced calls for retrospective action but that seems unlikely, though the incident should be an eye-opener when it comes to Arsenal‘s overall conduct.
There is remarkable symmetry with a case from last season when Mikel Arteta urged the injured Martinelli to roll back onto the pitch to ensure play stopped in a 2-0 win over West Ham in 2021.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Arteta unsurprisingly sided with a player he described as an “incredibly lovely guy.”
“Knowing Gabi, if anyone knows Gabi, he’s an incredibly lovely guy,” he told reporters.
“He probably didn’t realise what happened. I hope that Conor is well.
“I will have a word now with [Martinelli] to understand that, but he probably didn’t recognise what happened.”
Slot also took a sympathetic view to the situation, saying: “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 100 per cent sure that if he knew what the injury might be, he would never do that.”