Gabriel Martinelli accused of 'blatant cheating' that is 'ruining the game'

Gabriel Martinelli has been accused of 'cheating' during Arsenal's draw against Liverpool, with some fans comparing it to the criticism Harry Kane gets.

At the half hour mark on Sunday, Mikel Arteta must have been wondering why he and any Arsenal players in the past 11 years had found Anfield threatening.

The Arsenal boss attempted to get over the club's hoodoo last year by playing "You'll Never Walk Alone" on speakers during training, before getting beat 4-0.

Of course, it can't have been often in the past decade and a little bit that the hosts have defended as poor as they did in the first half on the weekend.

When Martinelli put the north Londoners ahead in just the eighth minute of the game, it looked like it would be a long afternoon for Jurgen Klopp's team.

It also led to Virgil van Dijk to come in for some very extreme criticism from fans, after he attempts to stop the opening goal, with those on social media calling him 'Van Disney.'

But the goalscorer of the opener has now also come in for criticism, after he was accused of 'cheating' and trying to get Ibrahima Konate punished.

The Brazilian forward didn't appear to get any contact with his face, when running through, but went to ground holding his face any way.

"What I don’t understand is they must know that the game is being recorded and we can see? Is he not embarrassed? I think and blatant diving should be dealt with in retrospect," argued one fan.

"Its insulting to all players that have had a genuine head injury. Game is stopped for everything, for example, players at set pieces going down holding their heads when nothing has happened. It's a disgrace," said a second.

Along similar lines, a third added, "Baffles me why they do it, the video will always be replayed and they’ll be caught out as liars."

Suggesting that rugby union style head injury assessments would sort the problem another replied, "The player should spend 10 minutes off the pitch if the is game stopped for a suspected head injury - Just to make sure all OK. That would end all this play acting nonsense."

"The hilarious part is that once he falls, he doesn’t know what to hold, his face or his chest," noted a fifth.

Because nothing can be a thing on it's own, Tottenham Hotspur fans were all up in arms over the comparisons with Kane, with one opining, "Notice that there is nothing in the media about Martinelli and Jesus diving several times yesterday, but when Kane got slapped in the face everyone was quick to call him a cheat…"

"Kane got poked in the eye and went down though he’s the real cheat," claimed another.

The Spurs striker was heavily criticised last week, following the team's draw with Everton at Goodison Park, following the incident that saw Abdoulaye Doucoure sent off.

The Toffees' midfielder did make contact with the forward's face but he responded in dramatic fashion by falling to the floor and holding his face for quite some time.

Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness was amongst many to criticise the player, but the difference in the incidents was the lack of red card for Konate.