GABRIEL MARTINELLI hobbled off the pitch and was later seen wearing a protective boot during Arsenal’s crunch clash with Brighton.
The Arsenal star was crocked by Moises Caicedo a few moments after the Brazilian almost took Kaoru Mitoma’s head off with a dangerously-high challenge in the first half of the Gunners’ crippling 3-0 defeat.
7Gabriel Martinelli was crocked by Moises Caicedo moments after he fouled Karou MitomaCredit: REUTERS
7Martinelli suffered an ankle injury in Arsenal’s clash with BrightonCredit: AP
7Caicedo was seen slapping Mitoma’s hand after his horror tackle
7After coming off, Martinelli was seen wearing a protective bootCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
Martinelli tried his best to play through the pain but was forced off in the 18th minute.
He was then spotted wearing a protective boot on the sidelines in worrying images for fans.
Gunners supporters were left furious at the 21-year-old’s injury, which they claimed was the result of an intentional foul from Caicedo – in revenge for Martinelli’s challenge on Mitoma.
One tweeted: “Caicedo gets revenge on Martinelli with a late challenge from behind.”
Another said: “Caicedo taking the revenge of Martinelli punch on Mitoma.”
And another said: “Caicedo revenge for Mitoma I guess.”
One footie fan said: “Love that from Caicedo. Left one on Martinelli.
“Revenge for Mitoma.”
And another chimed in: “Caicedo was trying to take revenge.”
Fan fury grew ten-fold when replays of Caicedo and Mitoma slapping hands with one another just after the foul started doing the rounds on social media.
Believing Caicedo was being congratulated, one Gooner tweeted: “It’s cool how Mitoma congratulated his teammate Caicedo for a challenge that injured an opponent and ultimately forced him out of the game.
“F*****g classless trash, that.”
Another said: “That handshake at the end showed the bad tackle on Martinelli was deliberate in retaliation to his tackle on Mitoma seconds before.”
Other footie fans, however, loved the embrace.
One said: “Love that from Caicedo, handshake with Mitoma after in all.”
Another said: “That handshake from Mitoma to Caicedo though.”
There is no indication that Caicedo, who Arsenal were keen to sign during the January transfer window, hurt Martinelli on purpose.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta confirmed Martinelli will undergo a scan to determine the severity of the injury.
The Spaniard said: “He’s in a boot at the moment.
“He was very uncomfortable, and he could not carry on playing. We need to scan him and see the extent of that injury.”
Arsenal saw their title hopes go up in smoke at the Emirates as Julio Enciso, Deniz Undav and Pervis Estupinan won it for Brighton.
And Arteta admitted it is “impossible” to imagine his side winning the title, with a Manchester City now just needing one victory to seal another crown.
He added: “A week ago I was standing here feeling proud and today we have to apologise for the performance in the second half.
“Mathematically, it’s still possible, but today it’s impossible to think about it.
“We need to digest the result and the performance in the second half, understand why and have a different reaction.”
7Gabriel Martinelli was lucky to escape a red card for his challenge on Karou MitomaCredit: REUTERS
7Martinelli was seen wearing a protective boot on the sidelines after coming offCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
7Martinelli wore a bigger protective boot at the end of the game.
source: thesun.co.uk
