Arsenal head of medical services Gary O’Driscoll has labelled a tackle from Moises Caicedo on Gabriel Martinelli as a “disgraceful foul” after their loss to Brighton.
The Brazilian was forced off the pitch on 20 minutes following a heavy tackle from behind by the Seagulls midfielder.
Some fans took to social media to claim it was revenge for Martinelli’s heavy challenge on Kaoru Mitoma, which came just before Caicedo clattered the Brazil international.
Arsenal forward Martinelli was pictured wearing a protective boot after the fixture, after second-half goals from Brighton trio Julio Enciso, Deniz Undav and Pervis Estupinan.
And O’Driscoll gave an update on Martinelli’s condition to a fan after the defeat to the Seagulls, which all but ended their hopes of winning the Premier League title.
When asked how Martinelli is, O’Driscoll replied: “Sore.”
The fan then made a comment about the tackle from Caicedo which left Martinelli injured, to which O’Driscoll added: “Terrible foul, disgraceful, disgraceful foul.”
O’Driscoll continued: “He’s a bit sore but he should be ok.
“Will he be back for the end of the season? Yeah, I think he’ll be back.”
Giving an update on other injured players, Oleksandr Zinchenko and William Saliba, O’Driscoll said: “Not sure about him (Zinchenko), everyone’s fighting to be back for the next game.
“Saliba? Same. Next game.”
Martin Odegaard has been one of Mikel Arteta’s best players this season but he could do nothing about their season-defining defeat to Brighton on Sunday.
Manchester City will win the title if Arsenal lose to Nottingham Forest on Saturday and Odegaard is keen to learn from their poor performance against Brighton.
“I felt like we were good going into the game but yeah, in the game, it was a different story.
“We have to accept that and learn from it.
“In the first half we did a lot of good things and we had some moments where we could create some big chances and maybe score a goal or two.
“Then in the second half we gave them more and more momentum. They are dangerous when they go direct and especially on our right side, they attacked us there a bit too easy in behind but it is hard to say at the moment. A lot of things we could do better.”
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