Daijiworld Media Network - London
London, Jan 9: Unsavoury scenes were witnessed at the Emirates Stadium during Arsenal’s clash against Liverpool after Gunners winger Gabriel Martinelli kicked the ball at Liverpool defender Conor Bradley and shoved him off the pitch, triggering angry reactions from the visiting side.
Bradley, who was lying on the ground at the time, appeared to have suffered a knee injury, but Martinelli, seemingly frustrated in the heat of the moment, reacted aggressively. Liverpool players rushed in following the incident, expressing their displeasure, though it was defender Ibrahim Konate who was eventually shown a yellow card by the referee.
Following the match, Martinelli took to social media to issue a public apology. “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,” he wrote on Instagram.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot responded to the controversy by offering a balanced view, stating that Martinelli did not appear to have acted with malicious intent. “I don’t know Gabriel Martinelli personally, but he comes across as a nice guy,” Slot said.
Slot pointed to the broader issue of time-wasting in modern football, explaining that such incidents can provoke emotional reactions late in games. “There is so much time-wasting and players pretending they are injured in the final moments that players trying to score can sometimes get annoyed,” he noted.
The Liverpool boss added that emotions run high in stoppage time, especially in high-stakes matches. “I’m 100 per cent sure that if Martinelli knew the seriousness of the injury, he would never have done what he did. But it doesn’t look good if Bradley has the injury we fear,” Slot said.
He concluded by suggesting that repeated instances of gamesmanship in football have conditioned players to suspect time-wasting in crucial moments. “In the 94th minute, players often think it’s happening again. I can understand Martinelli may have thought this was time-wasting and didn’t realise it was Liverpool,” Slot remarked.