Arsenal star makes anger with opponent clear as he blasts: ‘He could’ve broke my leg’

Brentford captain Christian Norgaard has been slammed by Arsenal forward Gabriel Martinelli after lunging into a tackle which saw him only receive a yellow card

Gabriel Martinelli has hit out at Brentford midfielder Christian Norgaard, claiming his tackle could have left him with a broken leg. Norgaard was shown a yellow card for a poor challenge on the Arsenal forward as he flew forward on the counter-attack in the first half of the 1-1 draw on Saturday evening.

The Brentford captain lunged in from behind to bring down Martinelli in the 28th minute, but referee Simon Hooper only deemed it worthy of a yellow card. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta was frustrated with the decision, which VAR did not intervene on, and told BBC Sport it was “clear” that Norgaard should have been sent off.

The Denmark international was seen apologising to Martinelli in the tunnel at half-time, and while he has forgiven him, the Arsenal star is convinced it was a dangerous tackle which could have ended in a serious injury.

“I didn’t see it again, but in my opinion, in the moment, if my foot was on the floor he could break my leg,” Martinelli told Sky Sports. “He said he didn’t mean it and I believe him, but still he could’ve broken my leg. For me, it was red. I need to see it again to be sure, but for me it was nasty.”

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Arsenal took the lead when Thomas Partey smashed past Mark Flekken on the counter-attack but were pegged back by Yoane Wissa’s swivel finish. Their 12th draw in 32 Premier League games leaves Arsenal 10 points behind Liverpool, who also have a game in-hand ahead of Sunday’s home fixture against West Ham.

“I have to see the action again,” Arteta told beINSPORTS when asked about Norgaard’s challenge. “I’ve seen it on TV, I have a different opinion, but the decision was made. The action is done, I can’t change it.”

Former Premier League midfielder Steve Sidwell said on Sky Sports: “Looking back and seeing the replay, I think if a red card was given you wouldn’t go ‘it’s not a red card’. It’s on that border line where it’s just on the cusp. If it’s not given then you say ‘OK, well there’s no real malice in it to injure and hurt the player’.

“I’ve been there before, where your right leg goes to get the ball and your left leg obviously trails on after, whereas sometimes people go in to do a scissor tackle and take the player down in that motion. I don’t think it was in that case.”

Ex-Liverpool star Jamie Redknapp added: “We know it’s not a pretty tackle – it’s a desperate tackle because Norgaard knows he hasn’t got the pace to match Martinelli. You’re just trying to almost scythe him down, he’s trying to stop him.

“He just lunges and goes in with two feet and he hooks his body round. We don’t see those normally as a red card, so that’s why in this situation I don’t. But is it a dangerous tackle? Yeah, of course it is.”

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