Arne Slot Gives Surprising Verdict on 'Disgraceful' Gabriel Martinelli Moment

Arne Slot has given his views on Gabriel Martinelli's controversial incident with Conor Bradley during Liverpool's draw against Arsenal.

On Thursday night, Premier League leaders Arsenal had the chance to go eight points clear of Manchester City as they welcomed Liverpool to the Emirates Stadium.

During what was an uneventful clash, both teams struggled to play at their best level.

Eventually, the match ended in a 0-0 draw, with both teams taking one point each.

There was, however, a dramatic end to the match, with Martinelli involved in an incident with Bradley.

The Liverpool man appeared to suffer an injury after clearing the ball and fell to the ground in agony.

As Bradley clutched his knee, Martinelli was seen dropping the ball on the Northern Irishman before shoving him off the pitch to allow the match to resume.

The Brazilian's actions caused a melee between the two teams, with Martinelli and Ibrahima Konate booked.

• If you want to see even more from SPORTbible, make us a preferred source on Google.

In the end, Bradley was stretchered off, with Slot claiming he is 'fearing the worst' over the severity of the full-back's injury.

On Sky Sports, Gary Neville slammed Martinelli, calling him an 'idiot' and branded his actions as 'disgraceful'.

When asked about the incident after the match, Slot defended Martinelli.

He said: "I don't know Gabriel Martinelli, but he comes across as a nice guy.

"I think the problem for him - and it's a problem in general in football - is that there is so much time-wasting and players pretending that they are injured in the final parts of the game and during the game, that you can sometimes be annoyed if you want to try to score a goal that you think the player is time-wasting."

"I'm 100 per cent sure that if he knew what the injury might be, that he would never do that."🤷🏻‍♂️

Arne Slot REACTS to the incident between Gabriel Martinelli and Conor Bradley at the end of Liverpool's goalless draw with Arsenal🗣️ pic.twitter.com/ZOCAo9FQaO

— Hayters TV (@HaytersTV) January 9, 2026

Slot added: "You cannot ask Martinelli to think so clear in the 94th minute.

"I am 100% sure that if he knew what the injury might be, then he would never do that."

Gabriel Martinelli releases statement after Conor Bradley incident

Martinelli has since issued an apology on social media.

The winger wrote: "Conor and I have messaged and I have already apologised to him. I really didn't understand he was seriously injured in the heat of the moment.

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