Van Dijk defends Liverpool after Martinelli drags injured Conor Bradley at Emirates

Virgil van Dijk defended his Liverpool team-mates after Arsenal forward Gabriel Martinelli attempted to drag injured Conor Bradley off the pitch at the Emirates Stadium, Goal reports.

Martinelli dropped the ball on Bradley and then tried to remove him, sparking a melee that involved players from both sides. Ibrahima Konate received a booking, Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville called Martinelli's actions a "disgrace," and Martinelli has since apologised; Bradley left in a knee brace. Van Dijk told reporters: "Everyone was unhappy at that moment. It wasn’t a couple of players, but everyone, and rightly so because Conor was on the pitch and to be pushing him off the pitch is not really a good sight." Liverpool maintain they did nothing wrong.

Van Dijk said the club are focused on Bradley and that "He will have medical tests coming up in the next 24 hours and we will have to adapt." The match finished 0-0, extending Liverpool's unbeaten run to 10 matches; the side were without a shot on target and are also coping with injuries to big-money strikers Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike, while Mohamed Salah is at the Africa Cup of Nations. Liverpool return to action on Monday in the FA Cup third round at Barnsley.

Key Topics

Sports, Virgil Van Dijk, Gabriel Martinelli, Conor Bradley, Liverpool, Emirates Stadium