Mikel Arteta sums up Gabriel Martinelli 'personality' after response to Liverpool criticism

The article discusses how Mikel Arteta characterized Gabriel Martinelli’s personality after the Arsenal forward responded on the pitch to criticism stemming from an incident against Liverpool. Martinelli had drawn widespread condemnation for trying to push injured Liverpool defender Conor Bradley off the pitch during a goalless draw, an action that looked particularly bad once the seriousness of Bradley’s knee injury emerged.[1][2]

In Arsenal’s next game, a 4–1 FA Cup win over Portsmouth, Martinelli delivered a hat-trick, turning the narrative toward his football rather than the controversy.[1][2] Arteta used this performance to highlight the Brazilian’s mentality, praising his “personality” and resilience. According to Arteta, Martinelli was able to block out external noise, accept the criticism, and channel his energy into a decisive display that fired Arsenal into the next round.[1][2]

Arteta stressed that such incidents are “part of football” and that what matters is how a player responds.[1][2] He said Martinelli understood internally why he acted as he did and reiterated that there was no intention to harm Bradley, noting that the player later apologized once he realized the severity of the injury.[1][2] Arteta also referenced comments from Arne Slot, who had spoken in a balanced way about the confrontation and backed the view that there was no malice in Martinelli’s actions.[2]

The manager went on to describe Martinelli as a footballer whose intensity never drops: whether he starts, comes off the bench, plays well, or plays poorly, he always trains “100 miles an hour” and maintains the same attitude.[2] For Arteta, that consistency and drive encapsulate Martinelli’s true personality, and the Portsmouth hat-trick was framed as the ideal response to the criticism that followed the Liverpool incident.[1][2]