Arsenal winger Gabriel Martinelli on Thursday apologized to Conor Bradley after bundling the injured Liverpool defender off the field in the final seconds of their 0-0 draw in the Premier League.
Bradley was writhing in pain near the sideline after landing awkwardly on his left knee making a clearance in stoppage-time.
Martinelli, clearly frustrated, walked up to Bradley, dropped the ball on him and then pushed the defender outside the playing surface.
Photo: AP
Liverpool’s players were livid and it sparked some pushing and shoving between members of each team.
Martinelli received a booking.
“Conor and I have messaged and I’ve already apologized to him,” Martinelli wrote on Instagram. “I really didn’t understand he was seriously injured in the heat of the moment.”
Photo: EPA
“I want to say I’m deeply sorry for reacting. Sending Conor all my best again for a quick recovery,” he wrote.
“Let’s hope for the best, but I fear the worst for Conor Bradley,” Liverpool manager Arne Slot said of Bradley’s injury.
“I think if a player of ours is on the floor, people might know by now that ... there is something wrong with that player. I think you could see this,” Slot said. “I didn’t like to see one of my players being moved out of the pitch if he might have such a big injury, which we don’t know yet.”
Photo: AP
Commentating on Sky Sports, former England and Manchester United defender Gary Neville called Martinelli’s behavior “absolutely disgraceful.”
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta defended Martinelli, saying “probably he doesn’t know” Bradley was injured.
“Because knowing Gabi, there’s zero intention,” he said. “I don’t know what happened to Conor. Hopefully he’s not bad. Obviously there’s no intention of Gabi to do anything bad to him.”
Photo: AP
Arsenal missed an opportunity to pull eight points clear in the Premier League with the result of the game.
Disappointing for so much of their title defense so far this season, Liverpool put in a polished display in driving rain at Emirates Stadium to bring an end to Arsenal’s five-match winning run in the league.
The closest either team came to scoring was when Bradley chipped David Raya after a mix-up between the Arsenal goalkeeper and centerback William Saliba, only for the ball to rebound off the crossbar.
Arsenal had just nine shots all match — their lowest at home in four years — and looked unusually disjointed.
Still, they have plenty to be happy about. Arsenal ended the latest round how they started — with a six-point lead over second-placed Manchester City and third-placed Aston Villa.
With 17 games left, the Gunners remain strong favorites to clinch a first league title since 2004.
Liverpool stayed in fourth place and extended their unbeaten streak to 10 matches.
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