Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville has launched a blistering critique of Gabriel Martinelli, branding the Arsenal winger an “idiot” after an unsavory incident during Thursday night’s goalless draw at the Emirates Stadium. The tension boiled over in stoppage time when Liverpool defender Conor Bradley suffered what appeared to be a serious knee injury.
Rather than showing concern, Martinelli aggressively attempted to shove the Northern Irishman off the pitch and even threw the ball at him while he lay prone on the turf. Neville, providing commentary for Sky Sports, expressed total disbelief at the lack of a physical response from the Liverpool squad to protect their teammate.
The match, which left Arsenal six points clear at the top of the Premier League, ended under a cloud of controversy due to Martinelli’s behavior. The Brazilian forward apparently mistook Bradley’s genuine distress for time-wasting tactics, despite the defender eventually needing a stretcher to leave the field. Neville argued that such a blatant lack of sportsmanship warranted a public apology and even suggested he would have understood if a Liverpool player had accepted a red card to retaliate against the 24-year-old.
“You can’t get him off the field,” Neville said. “You cannot do that. That is so poor. I think an apology is needed. Bradley is being stretchered off. I’m fuming with Martinelli to be honest. Disgraceful. Honestly, I really don’t get why the Liverpool players didn’t go over and kick him, I mean, seriously, and get a red card for it. That’s absolutely disgraceful.”
The incident sparked a heated on-field melee, resulting in yellow cards for both Martinelli and Liverpool’s Ibrahima Konate. Following the final whistle, Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai voiced his disappointment, emphasizing that player safety should always transcend the desire to win. He noted that Bradley was in such agony that he lost his sense of direction on the pitch before Martinelli intervened.
“I saw Conor twist his knee. I don’t know what exactly happened to him. Obviously, he didn’t want to come back to the pitch because it was just taking too much time, and he was in a lot of pain. He couldn’t even figure out where he had rolled, and Gabriel showed up and pushed him off the field,” Szoboszlai explained.
While Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and Liverpool’s Arne Slot both attempted to downplay the malice behind the act, the backlash remains significant. Martinelli later took to social media to confirm he had messaged Bradley to apologize, claiming he did not realize the severity of the injury in the heat of the moment. Meanwhile, Liverpool medical staff expect Bradley to undergo scans on Friday, with the club fearing a lengthy layoff for the young right-back.
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