Gabriel Martinelli issues apology to injured Conor Bradley as Liverpool boss Arne Slot defends actions of Arsenal star

Table-topping Arsenal were pushing for a dramatic winner against the reigning champions when Bradley cleared the ball into the crowd. His knee appeared to twist and buckle when doing so, leaving him in agony on the ground. Martinelli was in close attendance at the time.

He proceeded to drop the ball onto Bradley before grabbing hold of him and attempting to clear him from the field - which would allow the game to continue. Unsurprisingly, with their team-mate clearly in discomfort, Liverpool players did not take kindly to Martinelli’s unsportsmanlike performance.

An unsightly melee broke out, leading to bookings on both sides, with Ibrahima Konate particularly riled. Bradley was placed onto a stretcher after receiving treatment and was carried towards the dressing room with his shirt over his face. He was later seeing leaving the stadium in a knee brace.

Gary Neville, who was on co-commentary duty for Sky Sports, called Martinelli’s actions "disgraceful", while his fellow Manchester United legend Roy Keane conceded that the Brazilian forward had acted like an "idiot".

Martinelli was caught up in the "heat of the moment" and claims to have already spoken with Bradley. He posted on Instagram: "Conor and I have messaged and I’ve already apologised to him. 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."

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Liverpool head coach Arne Slot was quick to defend Martinelli afterwards, with an explanation for his questionable behaviour being offered. The Dutch tactician 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. You cannot ask Martinelli to think so clear in the 94th minute."

Slot added when asked for an update on Bradley’s condition, with the 22-year-old right-back seemingly set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines: "I am 100% sure that if he knew what the injury might be, then he would never do that. But it doesn't look great if he has the injury which we fear he might have.

"But time-wasting, diving... I have seen it happen against us so many times this season that I can understand that Martinelli might have thought that this is time-wasting as well. He couldn't have thought about 'this is Liverpool, they don't do this'."

Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai claimed that Bradley was in so much pain that he "didn't want to come back on the pitch for time-wasting" and that he "couldn't even think where he rolled" prior to being grabbed by Martinelli. The Hungarian added: "I understand you want to win, we want to win as well, but I think the health of a player is much more important than something else."

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta insists that Martinelli meant no harm, with the South American considered to be an "incredible, lovely guy". He went on to say: "I don't know what happened to Conor, but hopefully it's not bad. But obviously there is no intention from Gabi to do anything bad to him."

The game in question ended in a goalless draw. That result has kept Arsenal six points clear at the Premier League summit, while Liverpool sit fourth and remain on course for Champions League qualification.