Arne Slot breaks silence on Gabriel Martinelli after controversial incident
Liverpool manager Arne Slot has spoken out in defence of Gabriel Martinelli following a heated moment late in the match involving Conor Bradley.
The Arsenal winger was seen throwing the ball at Bradley and pushing him towards the touchline while the Liverpool right-back was injured.
Bradley was eventually stretchered off the pitch, raising concern among Liverpool players and supporters.
While the full extent of the injury is still unclear, Slot addressed the situation after the game and offered a calm view.
He made it clear that he did not believe Martinelli acted with bad intent during the incident.
Slot points to wider issue in football
Speaking after the match, Slot said: “I don’t know Gabriel Martinelli, but he comes across as a nice guy.”
The Liverpool manager then shifted focus to what he feels is a growing issue across football.
Slot explained that repeated instances of time-wasting and fake injuries have frustrated players in key moments.
He suggested this atmosphere can lead to reactions that look worse than intended during emotional games.
He added: “I think the problem for him is, and it’s a problem in general in football, that there is so much time-wasting and players pretending they are injured in the final parts of the game, that you can then sometimes be annoyed if you want to score a goal that you think the player is time-wasting.”
Slot stressed that emotions often run high late in matches, especially when teams are pushing for a goal.
He also defended his own squad, stating that Liverpool players do not delay games on purpose.
“I cannot ask of Gabriel Martinelli in the 94th minute when it’s so emotional for him to understand he is playing Liverpool – a team when we played Leeds and a player was held but didn’t go to the floor, or played West Ham United and my players try to drag Paqueta out of a situation where he was getting a second yellow card.”
Bradley injury concern and strong defence
Slot continued by making it clear he believed Martinelli would have acted differently if he knew the injury was serious.
The Dutch manager suggested the winger likely thought the situation was another case of time-wasting.
He further said: “I’m 100 per cent sure that if he knew what the injury might be that he would never do (what he did). But it doesn’t look great if he has the injury which we fear he might have”
For Bradley, attention now turns to his recovery and next steps. The Liverpool defender is expected to undergo a scan to assess the extent of the damage after the 0-0 draw.
At this stage, it remains too early to confirm how long he could be sidelined. Liverpool will hope the injury is not as serious as first feared, with updates expected in due course.
The post Arne Slot breaks silence on Gabriel Martinelli after controversial incident first appeared on ArsenalNews.co.uk.