Gabriel Martinelli left the pitch after 20 minutes of action on his own power. Martinelli was harshly challenged by Brighton midfielder (and gentleman who thought he was transferring to Arsenal in January) Moises Caicedo.
Moisรฉs Caicedo telling Gabi Martinelli โIโll make it up to you next season with assistsโ pic.twitter.com/wYmP3NtgGL
โ Gooner Chris (@ArsenalN7) May 14, 2023
Martinelli rolled his ankle, and perhaps manager Mikel Arteta will tell us more about the severity of the injury in post game. It doesn’t look too serious right now, as he was able to walk off to the dressing room without assistance. He was replaced by January acquisition Leandro Trossard, who thus got the opportunity to play against his former club.
Caicedo was not booked for the challenge, which may or may not have been a retaliation against Martinelli for his strong challenge on Kauro Mitoma, earlier in the game.
And when we say “strong challenge,” well that is a major euphemism. Take a look at this fierce hit.
Gabriel Martinelli just did this and didnโt even receive a card, reffing in this league is absolutely horrendous? pic.twitter.com/wkawbjqDb6
โ connor? (@ConnorWhiten) May 14, 2023
Most people who saw this really believe that it should have been a booking. The refs really missed this call.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager ofย The Sports Bank.ย Heโs also theย author of โTransatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,โ andย โNo, I Canโt Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.โ
Heโs written for numerous publications, including theย New York Daily News,ย Sports Illustratedย and theย Chicago Tribune.ย He regularly appears onย NTD Newsย andย WGN News Now.ย Follow the websiteย onย Twitterย andย Instagram.
