London, 9 Jan : North London club Arsenal's forward Gabriel Martinelli has issued an apology after his actions during the Premier League match against the arch-rival Liverpool were criticised. The 24-year-old winger drew massive attention when he was caught pushing injured Liverpool player Conor Bradley off the pitch near the end of the match at the Emirates Stadium in London.

After Martinelli's push, the Reds player fell near the touchline during stoppage time. As the seconds passed, the Arsenal star thought Conor was wasting time, and he threw the ball at the Liverpool player, who was also seen being manhandled.

Once the game finished, Martinelli realised his mistake. The forward issued a public apology on Instagram and also revealed that he reached out to the injured Bradley over text to apologise.

â??Conor and I have messaged, and I've already apologised to him. I really didn't understand he was seriously injured in the heat of the moment,â?? Martinelli wrote on his Instagram story.

â??I want to say I'm deeply sorry for reacting. Sending Conor all my best again for a quick recovery,â?? he added.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta also defended Martinelli, saying he probably did not know Bradley was injured.

â??Because knowing Gabi, there's zero intention. I don't know what happened to Conor. Hopefully, he's not bad. Obviously, there's no intention of Gabi to do anything bad to him,â?? he said in the post-match presentation.

Speaking of the game, Arsenal lost the opportunity to move eight points clear at the top of the Premier League as Liverpool held them to a 0-0 draw to keep their hopes alive in the top English league. Mikel Arteta's men failed to score for the first time at home all season but did enough to extend their advantage over second-placed Manchester City to six points.

Arsenal now has 49 points from 21 matches, while City is placed second with 43 points. Meanwhile, Liverpool strengthened its position in fourth place with 35 points to their name.

/IANS