Gary Neville receives a reply from Arsenal after his comments on Gabriel Martinelli. The Sky Sports commentator made some comments regarding Gabriel Martinelli’s ruthless behavior towards Liverpool’s Conor Bradley. The Brazilian forward quickly apologized to the fullback via Instagram just after the game. Since then, Gary Neville has been receiving comments from all over the internet. Arsenal’s coach Mikel Arteta has also backed his forward in this matter. As Conor Bradley his season with Liverpool is over as he is going to be out for the rest of the season. Liverpool’s media have confirmed that their player has undergone a succesfull surgery and working on his return.
It came as no surprise that Arsenal absolutely dominated proceedings early on. With Liverpool ironically setting up in a very defensive low block. Wingers Gakpo and Frimpong man-marked Arsenal’s fullbacks, often finding themselves alongside the Reds’ center backs. While Bukayo Saka had Milos Kerkez busy. However, it was Conor Bradley who hit the bar midway through the half after a mix-up in the Arsenal defense saw the right-back chip the keeper from outside the box. It proved a rare opportunity for a Liverpool side that had 11 players in their own defensive third for long periods. Quite the irony given Slot’s comments about teams who defend against his team in that manner. Liverpool had a penalty shout early in the second half after Trossard’s challenge on Wirtz. Although the VAR said no intervention was required. A debatable decision. The reds, in white, started to get more of a grip on the game as the half progressed and actually saw significantly more of the ball. Szoboszlai had two free kicks from range, the second of which was much closer than the first. A late injury for Bradley in stoppage time was a negative, while Gabriel Martinelli’s conduct was abysmal.
Gabriel Martinelli says he messaged Conor Bradley after the match to apologise 🤝
He tried to move Bradley off the pitch while he was down injured. pic.twitter.com/XqJfMDxrbq
— ESPN UK (@ESPNUK) January 9, 2026
Neville was providing commentary on the match at the time and condemned Martinelli’s behavior, stating, “You can’t push him off the pitch. You cannot do that. That is so poor. An apology is needed. Bradley is being stretchered off. I’m fuming with Martinelli to be honest. I don’t know how the Liverpool players didn’t go over and absolutely whack him, to be honest with you, and take a red card. Absolutely disgraceful, that.” A new report from The Mail has disclosed that Neville’s remarks caught the attention of viewers and generated 567 complaints to Ofcom regarding Sky’s broadcast of the match—the highest number in 2026 so far. Whilst Neville’s comments gained traction online amongst supporters following the fixture, he was not the sole Sky Sports pundit who criticized Martinelli, with Roy Keane branding the forward’s action an “absolute disgrace.” Former Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge also criticized Martinelli’s behavior, stating, “It’s disappointing to see. There’s passion, and there’s being a winner; there’s wanting to help your teammates, but you’ve got to be respectful as a footballer.”
Fan’s reaction
The Liverpool fans are concerned with the injury of Conor Bradley in the game against Arsenal. Despite the behavior, the fans understand Martinelli did not recognize it was a real injury. Slot said, “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. You can feel annoyed when players pretend to be injured and you think they are wasting time.
Author’s insight
From the author’s point of view, there is no tension between Martinelli and Bradley after the forward apologized for his conduct.
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