"Martinelli threw the ball at Bradley and manhandled him as he lay on the turf in the closing stages of Thursday's 0-0 draw at the Emirates. Bradley, 22, left the stadium on crutches and wearing a supportive brace on his left knee. Martinelli was booked for the flashpoint, which provoked anger from Liverpool's players. Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane called Martinelli "a disgrace" on Sky Sports."
"But in response to the backlash, Martinelli posted a story on his Instagram account, writing: "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.""
"Speaking in his post-match news conference, Arteta said: "Knowing Gabi, he's an incredible, lovely guy, and he probably didn't realise what happened. "I hope that Conor is well, I will have a word with him to understand that. Probably (Martinelli) didn't recognise what happened." Bradley struck the crossbar in the opening half of a cagey contest, but now looks set for a significant spell on the sidelines. "I fear the worst for Conor Bradley," said Liverpool manager Arne Slot."
"Of Martinelli's response, Slot continued: "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.""
Gabriel Martinelli threw the ball at Conor Bradley and manhandled him as Bradley lay on the turf late in Arsenal's 0-0 draw at the Emirates. Bradley, 22, left on crutches with a supportive brace on his left knee and faces a potential lengthy absence pending scans. Martinelli was booked and received criticism, including from Roy Keane. Martinelli apologised on Instagram, saying he had messaged Bradley and did not realise the injury at the time. Mikel Arteta defended Martinelli's character, while Liverpool manager Arne Slot expressed concern for Bradley and contextualised the reaction.
Read at Irish Independent
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