Gabriel Martinelli left the pitch and was later seen wearing a protective boot during Arsenal’s matchup with Brighton.
Martinelli was hooked by Moises Caicedo just after the Brazilian almost took out Kaoru Mitoma with a dangerous high challenge.
Gabriel Martinelli tried as much as possible to continue the game but could not manage the pain and was replaced in the 18th minute.
The Brazilian was then spotted wearing protective boots on the touchline which sent shivers down the spins of his fans.
Arsenal fans were left angry at the 21-year-old’s injury, which they claimed was the result of an intentional foul from Caicedo – in revenge for Martinelli’s challenge on Mitoma.
One of the fans tweeted: “Caicedo gets revenge on Martinelli with a late challenge from behind.”
While another added: “Caicedo taking the revenge of Martinelli punch on Mitoma.”
Another fan also added: “Caicedo revenge for Mitoma I guess.”
A Brighton fan was pleased with the tackle and wrote: “Love that from Caicedo. Left one on Martinelli. Revenge for Mitoma.”
And another Seagulls fan chimed: “Caicedo was trying to take revenge.”
The fans got angrier when replays of Caicedo and Mitoma slapping hands with one another just after the foul surfaced online.
The video started making rounds on social media and the majority of Arsenal fans believe Caicedo did it on purpose.
One Arsenal fan who believed that Caicedo was being congratulated, said: “It’s cool how Mitoma congratulated his teammate Caicedo for a challenge that injured an opponent and ultimately forced him out of the game.”
“F***g classless trash that.”
One other fan said: “That handshake at the end showed the bad tackle on Martinelli was deliberate in retaliation to his tackle on Mitoma seconds before.”
Other fans who were not interested in the tackle but the handshake, loved the embrace.
One of them said: “Love that from Caicedo, handshake with Mitoma after all.”
While another added: “That handshake from Mitoma to Caicedo though.”
Three’s no indication that Arsenal’s January target Caicedo tackled Martinelli on purpose.
The Spaniard confirmed that: “He’s in a boot at the moment.”
“He was very uncomfortable, and he could not carry on playing. We need to scan him and see the extent of that injury.”
Arsenal saw their title hopes go up in smoke at the Emirates as Julio Enciso, Deniz Undav and Pervis Estupinan won the game for Brighton.
Arteta also confirmed that it is “impossible” to imagine his side winning the title, as Manchester City just needs a point to win the 2022/23 Premier League.
Arteta revealed the previous week that: “A week ago I was standing here feeling proud and today we have to apologize for the performance in the second half.”
“Mathematically, it’s still possible, but today it’s impossible to think about it.”
“We need to digest the result and the performance in the second half, understand why, and have a different reaction.”
Mikel Arteta and Arsenal hope to chase the Premier League title next season as this season’s hope has died down.
But most importantly, Arteta-led-Arsenal will have the chance to enjoy the Champions League after 6 years out.
