Martinelli: ‘He could’ve broken my leg’ – stunned no red for Norgaard

Arsenal was furious that Christian Norgaard avoided a red card in Saturday's 1-1 draw with Brentford, in which Gabriel Martinelli said that the midfielder's tackle could have breaked his leg.

Yoane Wissa's smart finish has canceled Thomas Peny's opener in the Emirates Stadium, where Arsenal produced a flat version for four days from their 3-0 Champions League routine from Real Madrid.

Gunners -Baas Mikel Arteta was in disbelief halfway through the first half when referee Simon Hooper only booked Norgaard for a reckless challenge on Martinelli.

After the Brazilian, Norgaard jumped into a tackle with scarce movement and did not get close to the ball, so Martinelli walked around in pain.

While the incident was controlled and the VAR was deleted, Martinelli could not believe that Norgaard remained on the field.

“I didn't see it anymore, but my opinion at the moment was that if my foot was on the floor, we could have breaked my leg,” he told Sky Sports.

“He didn't mean it. I believe him, but he could have breaked my leg. I have to see it again, but for me it was a red.”

Asked about Norgaard's challenge in his press conference after the game, said Arteta: “I think my reaction said it all.”

Arsenal's second Premier League -similar play in the room of a week Liverpool has a maximum of nine points needed to complete the title.

Liverpool has four games to play before he welcomes Arsenal in Anfield on 11 May, which increases the chances that the gunners must give their rivals an honorary guard.

Asked if the title was out of reach, said Arteta – who had previously refused to admit that the race is over -: “I don't know, the atmosphere was different from Tuesday, that's certain.

“I don't know if it [the Champions League] Was in the back of the heads of the crowd. For us as professionals we know the importance of focusing.

“Today we wanted to increase the chance that we really have a challenge for what we are looking for in the Premier League. With that result it is more unlikely that it happens.”

In the meantime, Brentford climbed in one place in the table to the 11th. They are five points behind Fulham in eighth place – a position that is likely to be sufficient for the qualification of the Europa Conference League.

Against Sky Sports, bee boss Thomas Frank suggested that a European indictment could still be a reality for Brentford with six more games.

“Of course it is a very good point against a very good Arsenal team that beat Real Madrid four days ago,” said Frank.

“Fighting back to come to 1-1 shows the character in our team. I had loved us to create more, but they also defended very well.

“We would like to compete for Europe and strive as high as possible in many ways. That is what we fight and play every year.

“We never celebrate a point, but it's a very good point. We'll keep pushing.”

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