JAKARTA - Arsenal winger Gabriel Martinelli says he is very sorry for pushing Conor Bradley off the pitch. He revealed that he had apologized directly to the Liverpool defender who was seriously injured.
Martinelli threw the ball at Bradley and treated him harshly as he lay on the field in the final minutes of the 0-0 draw at the Emirates Stadium on Friday, January 9, 2026, early morning WIB.
Bradley, 22, left the stadium using crutches and wearing a left knee brace. Meanwhile, Martinelli received a yellow card for the incident, which sparked the anger of the Liverpool players.
Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane has called Martinelli a disgrace.
However, in response to the criticism, Martinelli uploaded a story on his Instagram account revealing that he had apologized.
"Conor and I have been texting each other. I've apologized to him. I really didn't understand that he was seriously injured at the time."
"I want to say that I am very sorry for my reaction. Once again I wish Conor the best to recover quickly," said Martinelli.
Before Martinelli's social media post, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta defended his player.
"Knowing Gabi, he's a great guy and a good guy. He probably didn't realize what was going on. I hope Conor is okay."
"I will speak with him to understand. Maybe (Martinelli) doesn't realise what happened," Arteta told a news conference after the game.
Bradley seems to be out for quite some time. Liverpool manager Arne Slot also responded to his player's injury and Martinelli's attitude who admitted his guilt.
"I'm worried for Conor Bradley the worst. I don't know yet, but he had to be taken out on a stretcher. We have to wait for the scan results to see if it's serious."
"I don't know Gabriel Martinelli, but he seems like a good guy. The problem in general in football is that there is too much time-wasting and players pretend to be injured so you can get annoyed because you think a player is wasting time."
"You can't expect Martinelli to think clearly in the 94th minute. I am one hundred percent sure that if he knew what injury he might have, he would never have done that," said Arne Slot.
Arsenal's draw against Liverpool puts them six points ahead of second-placed Manchester City in this season's English League table.
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