Gabriel Martinelli is a tremendous young footballer, as he’s shown at Arsenal for several seasons now, but it was disappointing to see him indulge in some needless playacting at Anfield on Sunday.
At one stage during yesterday’s game against Liverpool, the Brazilian went to contest a 50-50 ball against Ibrahima Konate.
The Reds defender lifted his leg to hoof the ball away from the Gunners starlet, who’d dipped his head slightly in trying to win the duel.
Martinelli then fell to the turf grimacing in apparent agony despite the Frenchman not actually making contact with any part of the 21-year-old.
It’s not what we want to see from any player on a football pitch, particularly anyone in a Liverpool shirt, and hopefully the Arsenal youngster erases that from his game to instead focus purely on displaying the talents which have made him a key component of their Premier League title challenge.
You can see the clip of the incident below, as shared on Twitter by @RichMaxted:
Can ya explain this to me? pic.twitter.com/SqWyHeNmcc
— Rich Maxted (@RichMaxted) April 10, 2023