Coach Slot comments on Martinelli's misconduct: 'He is a good person'

In a post-match interview after the 21st round Premier League 2025/26 game against Arsenal, coach Arne Slot shared his thoughts on Gabriel Martinelli’s inappropriate conduct during Conor Bradley’s injury incident.

With Man City held to a draw by Brighton in round 21, Arsenal needed a win to extend their lead in the standings. However, despite having a full squad, Arsenal failed to secure victory at home. They were held to a draw by a Liverpool with solid defense, and Conor Bradley nearly scored if not for the crossbar denying him.

In the 90th minute, Bradley painfully left the field on a stretcher after a failed clearance. Instead of showing goodwill to help his opponent, Gabriel Martinelli from Arsenal behaved poorly by pushing and pulling Bradley off the pitch, even deliberately pushing his injured leg. This action angered the Liverpool players greatly and reflected the frustration and loss of emotional control among many Arsenal players during a goalless evening.

After the match, Dominik Szoboszlai spoke to reporters expressing his dissatisfaction: "We all saw Bradley was suffering from a knee injury; he was genuinely in pain, not just wasting time, so he had to be stretchered off. Of course, Arsenal wants to win, and so do we, but I remind them that players’ health is more important.”

However, unlike Szoboszlai, Arne Slot understood Martinelli’s actions. Sharing after the match, the Dutch coach said:

“I don’t personally know Gabriel Martinelli, but I believe he is a good-natured guy. The problem is football nowadays has too many deliberate time-wasting incidents, and no one can be sure if the opposing player lying on the ground is really hurt, especially when you are eager to score. I believe if Martinelli knew how serious Bradley’s injury was, he wouldn’t have acted that way.”

This draw for Arsenal prevented them from extending their gap over chasing Man City, but currently, they still maintain a 6-point lead over Man City. Soon, Arsenal will temporarily pause Premier League action to face Portsmouth in the FA Cup third round and Chelsea in the English League Cup semi-final.