Arsenal stepped away from the Premier League to turn attention to FA Cup duty, but Liverpool were still on Mikel Arteta’s mind.
The Gunners won 4-1 at Fratton Park to beat Portsmouth to book a spot in the FA Cup fourth round.
It was an outing to savour for many reasons, one being Kai Havertz’s impressive return and another being Gabriel Martinelli’s hat-trick.
It’s been a tough week for Martinelli after his incident with Conor Bradley at the end of Arsenal’s 0-0 draw with Liverpool.
To end the week by taking home the match ball was much-needed for the Brazilian, and Arteta knew it.
- READ MORE: Ian Wright says what he really thinks of Gabriel Martinelli after Connor Bradley controversy
Who was your Arsenal Man of the Match vs Portsmouth?
Mikel Arteta says he loved Arne Slot’s reaction to Gabriel Martinelli and Conor Bradley saga
Martinelli has been criticised so much for his push on Bradley, with the topic not going away after it was devastatingly revealed that the Liverpool defender will now miss the remainder of the season.
Even after his hat-trick against Portsmouth, when it came to talking about Martinelli post-match, the Bradley situation was still a discussion point.
In Arteta’s post-match press conference, the Arsenal manager was asked how proud he was of his player’s reaction to the negative press.
“It’s part of football and then it’s how you take it, but he knew inside the reason why he did what he did,” Arteta said.
If you were Conor Bradley, how would you respond to this apology from Gabriel Martinelli?
The boss then took a moment to credit Arne Slot for his take on the situation that regrettably unfolded at the Emirates.
“I think Arne Slot spoke brilliantly after the game, speaking of your opponent in the manner that he explained the situation and the fact that Gabi had no intention whatsoever to damage any player.
“And yeah, that’s personality. Come in and talk on the pitch, which is the best part of it,” Arteta concluded.
The Liverpool manager was eager to remind pundits and fans that Martinelli’s actions were not made with malice, saying the following:
“I don’t know Gabriel Martinelli, but he comes across as a nice guy. The problem for him is, there is so much time-wasting from players during or after the game.
“I am 100% sure that if he knew what the injury might be, he wouldn’t do that. But it doesn’t look great if Bradley has the injury we think he has.
“But time-wasting has come to the place where players think that it’s happening in the 94th minute, so I can understand why Martinelli thought he might be doing that.”
Arteta knows what Martinelli will do next after Portsmouth hat-trick
After touching on the Bradley incident, hopefully for the last time, Arteta spoke about how impressed he was with Martinelli’s performance and his attitude.
Describe Gabriel Martinelli’s performance against Portsmouth in three words
Hat-trick hero!
“I love it. Gabi, in every context that you throw him in, he plays, he doesn’t play,” Arteta said.
“He performs well, not well. Today, he scored three goals. Tomorrow, he’s going to train 100 miles an hour, for sure. He’s not going to change that. And that’s Gabi.”
Arteta clearly values Martinelli so much for the work he puts in to continue to get chances in the Arsenal squad, with a difficult week ending in a reward.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
