Gabriel Martinelli's character was the subject of discussion following his shove on the injured Conor Bradley
Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai of Liverpool confront Gabriel Martinelli of Arsenal
Gabriel Martinelli's character was questioned after his behaviour towards Conor Bradley
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Arne Slot and Jurgen Klopp are in agreement over Gabriel Martinelli's character after it was questioned over his shove on Conor Bradley. The Arsenal forward attempted to force the injured Liverpool defender off the pitch in Thursday's 0-0 draw in north London.
After landing awkwardly when trying to clear the ball, the Northern Ireland international immediately clutched his knee, which delayed Arsenal's attempt to restart play via a throw-in. The frustrated Martinelli dropped the ball on Bradley before complaining about his placement on the pitch, despite the 22-year-old writhing in pain.
The Brazilian then shoved him in the back to get him off the pitch with Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Ibrahima Konate retaliating by pushing the winger. Bradley was later taken off on a stretcher. Given a yellow card for his behaviour towards Bradley, Martinelli was not only defended by his manager, Mikel Arteta, but was called a "nice guy" by Slot after full-time.
Defending the rival player in his post-match press conference, the Dutchman said: "I don't know Gabriel Martinelli, but he comes across as a nice guy.
"I think the problem for him - and it's a problem in general in football - is that there is so much time-wasting and players pretending that they are injured in the final parts of the game and during the game, that you can sometimes be annoyed if you want to try to score a goal that you think the player is time-wasting.
Conor Bradley of Liverpool is treated for injury as Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Magalhaes of Arsenal look on during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Liverpool at Emirates Stadium
Conor Bradley was pushed by Gabriel Martinelli while clutching his knee
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"You cannot ask Martinelli to think so clear in the 94th minute." Slot then admitted: "I am 100 per cent sure that if he knew what the injury might be, then he would never do that." His description of Martinelli is a sentiment that was previously shared by Klopp during his reign at Anfield.
It was after Liverpool's 5-4 penalty shootout win against the Gunners in the EFL Cup fourth round that the German had high praise in store for Martinelli, who was 18 years old at the time.
Praising his "unbelievable" talent, Klopp also mentioned the Brazilian's impressive maturity "It was not in this game only. I watch a lot of football, so I saw the Europa League games of Arsenal," he said.
Gabriel Martinelli is booked
The Arsenal forward apologised for his actions after the game
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"He's 18 years old, right? So our scouting department is all over the world and stuff like this, but I think Edu gets all the credit for that signing. He's really unbelievable. So young, looks so mature already, is a proper threat. Yeah, he looks like a really decent player."
Martinelli's regret over his actions was obvious when he took to social media to reveal he had apologised to Bradley. "Conor and I have messaged and I've already apologised to him," he wrote on his Instagram story.
"I really didn't understand he was seriously injured in the heat of the moment. I want to say I'm deeply sorry for reaction. Sending Conor all my best again for a quick recovery."
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