Martinelli expresses regret to Bradley after injury incident

Arsenal forward Gabriel Martinelli expressed regret to injured Liverpool right-back Conor Bradley after an incident during their 0-0 draw on Thursday.

In stoppage time, as Bradley stumbled near the touchline, Martinelli threw the ball at him and then physically pushed him off the pitch, seemingly under the impression that the Liverpool player was wasting time.

Both Martinelli and Liverpool's Ibrahima Konate were booked following the heated reaction from the players.

Bradley, who plays as a full-back for Northern Ireland, was eventually stretchered off in obvious pain.

Martinelli later took to social media to publicly apologise, admitting that he had not realised the severity of Bradley’s injury in the heat of the moment.

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

The incident drew heavy criticism, with Martinelli’s actions described as 'disgraceful.' Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville expressed his anger, stating that the Arsenal forward had left him 'fuming.'

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta defended Martinelli, saying he would never have intentionally pushed Bradley if he had known he was injured.

"Probably he doesn't know because knowing Gabi, there is zero intention," Arteta said. "I don't know what happened to Conor, but hopefully it’s not bad, but obviously, there is no intention from Gabi to do anything bad to him."