winger

Arsenal‘s Gabriel Martinelli has apologised for trying to push injured Liverpool defender Conor Bradley off the pitch during Thursday’s 0-0 draw between the teams.

Northern Ireland international Bradley landed awkwardly near the touchline when chasing the ball in stoppage time, falling to the ground and immediately clutching his knee.

Martinelli then dropped the ball on the full-back before shoving him in the back in an attempt to get him off the playing surface to allow the game to continue.

That action sparked a melee between the two sets of players, with Martinelli and Liverpool‘s Ibrahima Konate both yellow-carded for their involvement.

After receiving treatment, Bradley was taken away on a stretcher and was later seen leaving Emirates Stadium on crutches and with a knee brace.

Former Manchester United players Gary Neville and Roy Keane were both highly critical of Martinelli, with Neville saying his actions were “absolutely disgraceful” and describing the Arsenal winger as an “idiot”.

Martinelli later issued an apology on social media, saying the two players had been in contact and he had already said sorry.

“I really didn’t understand he was seriously injured in the heat of the moment,” Martinelli posted on Instagram.

“I want to say I’m deeply sorry for reacting. Sending Conor all my best again for a quick recovery.”

Liverpool manager Arne Slot defended Martinelli after the match, suggesting the wider issue of time-wasting in football may have led to the flashpoint.

“I don’t know Gabriel Martinelli, but he comes across as a nice guy,” said Slot.

“I think the problem for him – and it’s a problem in general in football – is that there is so much time-wasting and players pretending that they are injured in the final parts of the game and during the game, that you can sometimes be annoyed if you want to try to score a goal that you think the player is time-wasting.

“You cannot ask Martinelli to think so clear in the 94th minute.”

Born in the Viewpark area of North Lanarkshire, Robertson played for Drumchapel Amateurs and Scotland at youth level before joining Forest in May 1970, making his debut later that year.

Having been on the transfer list before Clough’s arrival in 1975, he became a key player under the iconic manager, appearing in 243 consecutive games between December 1976 and December 1980.

Robertson scored the winner from the penalty spot in the 1978 League Cup final replay win over Liverpool.

He was sold to Derby in 1983 for a constested transfer fee, a move which soured the relationship between Clough and his former assistant, Peter Taylor.

An early injury hampered Robertson’s progress at County and, despite rejoining Forest in 1985, he never again captured the same form and moved on to non-league Corby Town, Stamford and then Grantham Town.

At Forest, he also won the First and Second Division titles, the Uefa Super Cup, two Football League Cups, the 1978 FA Charity Shield and the Anglo-Scottish Cup.

And in 2015, Robertson topped a poll by the Nottingham Post of favourite all-time Forest players.

As O’Neill’s assistant, Robertson helped Wycombe win promotion from the Football Conference and Third Division, and promotion to the top tier with Leicester, as well as the League Cup.

An even more successful spell with Celtic followed.

In Glasgow, they won the Scottish Premier League three times, the Scottish Cup three times, the League Cup once and reached the Uefa Cup final.

Then, in Robertson’s final season as a coach in 2010, Villa finished runners-up in the League Cup final.