Mikel Arteta defends Gabriel Martinelli after incident with Conor Bradley

Mikel Arteta defended Gabriel Martinelli after the forward appeared to throw the ball at injured Liverpool defender Conor Bradley during the closing stages of Arsenal’s 0-0 draw against the Premier League champions.

Bradley, who later left the Emirates on crutches with his left knee in a support, went down after falling awkwardly near the touchline and was in some discomfort before Martinelli dropped the ball on him then attempted to manhandle him off the pitch.

It provoked a furious reaction from Liverpool’s players, at the end of a match that had been low on talking points, with neither side creating many chances.

Both Martinelli and Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate were booked in the ensuing melee.

Speaking on Sky Sports’ coverage of the game, pundit Roy Keane called Martinelli’s action “a disgrace,” though Arteta appealed for understanding on behalf of his player.

“Knowing Gabi, he’s an incredible, lovely guy,” he said. “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.”

Liverpool boss Arne Slot was downcast about the possible extent of the injury to Bradley, which occurred in the fourth minute of stoppage time at the end of the match as the full-back attempted to clear the ball.

“I fear the worst for Conor Bradley,” he said.

“I don’t know yet but he had to go off on a stretcher. We’ll have to wait on the scans to see if it’s that bad.”

Of Martinelli’s response, 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