While the game failed to deliver quite as much drama as expected, Arsenal's 0-0 draw with Liverpool has produced one notable talking point this week. The moment came between Gabriel Martinelli and Conor Bradley.
With just seconds left to play, the 22-year-old defender put the ball out of play but appeared to twist his knee in the process. While down in pain, Martinelli wrongly assumed it was an attempt to waste time.
The Brazilian tried to drag Bradley off the pitch, sparking a big response from players on the field, as well as fans and pundits watching along. Another individual who appears to have been irked by the Arsenal man's antics is the father of Milos Kerkez.
Kerkez's Father Appears to Send Threat to Martinelli
Liverpool's Milos Kerkez heads the ball
Premier League - Liverpool v Brighton & Hove Albion - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - December 13, 2025 Liverpool's Milos Kerkez in action REUTERS/Phil Noble
Liverpool left-back Kerkez’s father, Sebastijan, wasted no time in making his feelings clear as he posted a very menacing message about Martinelli in his now-deleted Instagram story. Screenshots shared online, and translated to English, appeared to show Sebastijan saying:
“Where I’m from, these things are handled a lil different, Someone teach a little basic culture before I have to.”
Pundit Gary Neville seemed to feel just as angry, as he said live in commentary: "You idiot [aimed at Martinelli], I'm surprised one of the Liverpool players hasn't gone over and had a right pop at him. I'm actually fuming with Martinelli. Honestly, I don't know how the Liverpool players haven't gone over and absolutely whacked him to be honest with you."
Fans have since criticised Neville for suggesting violence was the best way to deal with this act of poor sportmsanship.
Arne Slot Plays Down Incident as Martinelli Apologises
Virgil van Dijk in Arsenal vs Liverpool
Despite the outrage in some quarters, it does seem as though things have perhaps been a little blown out of proportion. Liverpool manager Arne Slot certainly was keen to play down the incident, saying:
"I don’t know Gabriel Martinelli, but he comes across as a nice guy, I think the problem for him is, and it’s a problem in general in football, that there is so much time-wasting and players pretending they are injured in the final parts of the game, that you can then sometimes be annoyed if you want to score a goal that you think the player is time-wasting."
He added: “I’m 100% sure that if he knew what the injury might be that he would never do [what he did]."
Martinelli has also expressed his regret, sharing a heartfelt apology online, in which he made clear he'd already spoken to Bradley. The Arsenal winger said: "Conor and I have messaged and I have already apologised to him. I really didn't understand he was seriously injured in the heat of the moment.”
The forward added: "I want to say I'm deeply sorry for reacting. Sending Conor all my best again for a quick recovery."
Unsurprisingly, it's not expected that the FA will intervene to add to any further punishment for Martinelli, who was booked for his poor behaviour.