Keane Tears Into "Absolutely Disgraceful" Martinelli Over Bradley Incident in Damp Emirates Stalemate

The rain-soaked Emirates played host to a thoroughly uninspiring 0-0 between Arsenal and Liverpool on Friday, but the match's defining moment came not from any attacking prowess, but from an ugly flashpoint involving Gabriel Martinelli and Conor Bradley.

When the Liverpool defender went down with what looked immediately like a genuine injury, Martinelli's response proved the real talking point of the evening. After hurling the ball at Bradley, the Arsenal winger proceeded to push the stricken defender further up the pitch in an attempt to get him off the field so play could resume.

The incident left Liverpool's players understandably seething. Gary Neville, working commentary duties, branded Martinelli an "idiot" and expressed surprise that no Reds player stepped in to confront him, even if it meant receiving a red card for doing so.

Roy Keane was equally unimpressed when dissecting events after the final whistle. The former Manchester United skipper pulled no punches in his assessment, telling Sky Sports: "No, I didn't like it. Didn't like it at all."

Keane drew on his own experience of similar treatment during his playing days, noting the accumulation of offences: "First of all, throwing the ball at him, standing over him, and he's got a little knee in him here – if you watch it closely – he's trying to force him off."

"That behavior is absolutely disgraceful," Keane continued, "because he's a good boy to roll around himself. So not good scenes. Hopefully Martinelli will have a look at it and apologise."

The former United captain stressed the severity of the situation, pointing out that when a player is visibly injured, you cannot determine how serious the damage might be. "You could tell he's obviously injured. If you're standing over him, you don't know the severity of the injury the player has. It looks pretty bad. And you're trying to push him off the pitch? Not good stuff."

Keane also voiced his bewilderment that Liverpool's players didn't pursue the matter more forcefully with Martinelli on the pitch.

Daniel Sturridge, Keane's fellow pundit, took an equally dim view of proceedings. The former Liverpool striker suggested Martinelli's actions crossed a line beyond mere disrespect.

"It's disappointing to see," Sturridge reflected. "There's passion, there's being a winner, there's wanting to help your teammates, but you've got to be respectful as a football player."

Sturridge acknowledged that Martinelli might have been thinking of time-wasting, but argued that such considerations are irrelevant when a player is clearly injured. "You've got to be self-aware enough to know, 'Okay, cool, the guy's down. You've been there before, and it's just disrespectful, probably even worse than disrespectful, to be honest with you. It's just disappointing to see.'"

The incident overshadowed a match that offered little else in terms of entertainment value, leaving both sides with a point apiece on a miserable evening at the Emirates.