Mikel Arteta and Arne Slot defended Gabriel Martinelli’s actions after the Brazil forward escaped a red card for trying to push an injured Conor Bradley off the pitch as Arsenal were held to a draw by Liverpool.
The Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville labelled Martinelli an “idiot” after he decided to intervene when Bradley went down with a knee injury during stoppage time in the second half of a bad-tempered game in north London. The Northern Irishman came closest to breaking the deadlock in the first half when he struck the bar as the defending champions made it 10 matches unbeaten in all competitions and denied Arsenal the opportunity to move eight points clear at the top.
