Arsenal and Liverpool played out a 0-0 draw on Friday that ended in dramatic fashion as a “disgraceful” Gabriel Martinelli came under scrutiny for actions that were “probably worse than disrespectful”.
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That was the opinion of former Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge, who said it was “disappointing to see” Martinelli throw the ball at an injured Conor Bradley before trying to nudge him over the sideline to get play restarted.
Martinelli’s actions sparked a mass brawl, with Bradley landing awkwardly as he contested for the ball with Martinelli.
Both teams were desperate for points on Friday, with Arsenal missing a chance to move eight points clear at the top of the Premier League as Liverpool came to life in the 0-0 draw.
But regardless of the context, the general consensus from Premier League pundits after the game was that Martinelli was clearly in the wrong.
“There’s passion and there’s being a winner, there’s wanting to help your teammates, but you’ve got to be respectful as a footballer,” Sturridge said on Sky Sports.
“Injuries are never a nice feeling. Martinelli is thinking time wasting but you’ve got to be self aware enough to see the guy is down. You’ve been there before.
“It’s disrespectful. It’s probably worse than disrespectful.”
Roy Keane labelled Martinelli’s behaviour an “absolute disgrace” while Gary Neville declared an apology “is needed”.
“Bradley is being stretchered off. I’m fuming with Martinelli to be honest. Disgraceful,” he added on Sky Sports.
Keane, meanwhile, said a similar thing happened to him in his career when he was “badly injured” and an opposition player “stood over me”.
“Throwing the ball at him, standing over him and getting a little knee on him. He tries to force him off,” Keane added.
“That behaviour is an absolute disgrace.”
In response to the backlash, Martinelli 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.”
Liverpool boss Arne Slot said in his press conference that while he does not know Martinelli he “comes across as a nice guy”, giving the Arsenal winger the benefit of the doubt.
“The problem for him, and it’s a problem in general in football, is that there is so much time-wasting in the final parts of games that sometimes you can be annoyed when you want to score a goal and you feel a player is pretending to be injured,” Slot added.
“I’m 100 per cent sure if he knew what the injury might be, he wouldn’t do that.”
Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai, meanwhile, told Sky Sports that while he understands that a crucial win was on the line “the health of the player comes ahead of everything else”.
Reds hold table-topping Gunners | 00:42
The Reds are one of only two sides to beat Mikel Arteta’s men this season and came closest to breaking the deadlock when Bradley hit the crossbar.
Arsenal, meanwhile, failed to score for the first time at home all season but did enough to extend their advantage over second-placed Manchester City to six points.
Three consecutive draws for City over the past week had opened the door for Arsenal to close in on their first league title in 22 years.
The Emirates was bouncing before a ball was kicked in anticipation, but the spectacle between the defending champions and apparent champions elect fell flat.
Both sides struggled to deal with the treacherous conditions as Storm Goretti unleashed torrential rain and swirling winds.
Liverpool have long since fallen out of the title race since beating the Gunners at Anfield in August, but are now 10 games unbeaten to consolidate their place in the top four.
The visitors were penned in for much of the first 45 minutes but still came closest to opening the scoring before the break.
Botched tap-in saves Man City from upset | 00:33
William Saliba’s backpass nearly caught out David Raya and, with the Spanish goalkeeper stranded, Bradley’s lob came back off the underside of the crossbar.
The roles were reversed in the second period as Liverpool dominated possession and territory.
However, the Reds were shorn of three of their biggest attacking threats with Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike out injured and Mohamed Salah away at the Africa Cup of Nations.
That lack of firepower in the final third showed as Arsenal were only ever troubled by the pace of Jeremie Frimpong, who lacked the final ball to make his dangerous bursts count.
Dominik Szoboszlai’s stunning free-kick separated the sides when the last met and nearly repeated the trick with a powerful effort that dipped just too late.
At the other end, Viktor Gyokeres was hauled off by Arteta after another poor performance as his goal drought from open play extended to 10 games.
Arteta had to turn to his wealth of options off the bench to try and turn the tide as Gabriel Jesus, Noni Madueke, Eberechi Eze and Martinelli were all introduced in the hunt for a winner.
But they took until stoppage time to register a shot on goal in the second half as Jesus and Martinelli fired too close to Alisson Becker.
A point edges fourth-placed Liverpool three points clear of Newcastle and Manchester United in the battle for a place in next season’s Champions League.
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