Gabriel Martinelli footage resurfaces as Arsenal star responds to Conor Bradley incident

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Arsenal star Gabriel Martinelli triggered outrage with his shove on the injured Conor Bradley four years after Mikel Arteta did similar to the Brazilian. The winfer was involved in a controversial incident during the closing stages of his side’s 0-0 draw with Liverpool on Thursday.

With Bradley seemingly picking up a serious injury, Martinelli dropped the ball on the young defender and then proceeded to haul him off the pitch. That triggered a mass brawl between the two sides, while Roy Keane and Gary Neville were left furious.

And while Martinelli has now apologised for his part in the incident, old footage has since shown the forward being involved in a similar exchange. After picking up an injury during a clash with West Ham back in December 2021, he went down on the sidelines and gestured for treatment.

Upon noticing the striker, boss Arteta helped him up and beckoned him back onto the pitch to bring the game to a halt. Arsenal eventually went on to win that game 2-0.

Of course, Martinelli’s issue did not appear to be as bad as Bradley’s, with the Liverpool star eventually having to be stretchered off. And to the Brazilian’s credit, he has already apologised.

Taking to social media, he 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.

"I want to say I'm deeply sorry for reacting. Sending Conor all my best again for a quick recovery."

Meanwhile, Arsenal boss Arteta claimed that the forward did not realise the seriousness of the situation and had he done so, he would not have moved Bradley. Speaking post-match, he said: "Knowing Gabi, he's an incredible, lovely guy, and he probably didn't realise what happened.

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“I hope that Conor is well, I will have a word with him to understand that. Probably (Martinelli) didn't recognise what happened."

Liverpool boss Arne Slot also gave his verdict on the incident and did not think Martinelli was totally to blame. He 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 and players pretending to be injured, that you can be annoyed that you think a player is time wasting.

"You cannot expect Martinelli to think so clearly in the 94th minute. I'm a hundred per cent sure that if he knew what the injury might be, he would never do that."

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