Gabriel Martinelli says Christian Norgaard could have broken his leg with the tackle he made on him during Arsenal’s draw with Brentford.
Norgaard caught Martinelli from behind with a tackle in the first half that earned him a yellow card.
The tackle prompted a furious reaction from Mikel Arteta on the touchline and the Arsenal manager later said: “I think my reaction tells everything.”
Martinelli has since described the tackle as “nasty” and the winger believes it could have broken his leg.
The Brazilian has accepted Norgaard’s insistence that he did not mean it, however he still believes the tackle could have caused him a serious injury.
“I didn’t see that again but in my opinion, in the moment, if my foot was on the floor then he could break my leg,” Martinelli told Sky Sports.
“He said he didn’t mean it - I believe him - but still he could have broke my leg. For me, it was red. I need to see it again to be sure, but for me it was nasty.”
Martinelli was able to carry on after the tackle and he completed all 90 minutes as Arsenal drew 1-1 with Brentford.
Thomas Partey, who scored Arsenal’s opening goal, was forced off with 20 minutes to go and is now an injury doubt for Wednesday’s game at Real Madrid.
“We didn’t expect the issue with Thomas that we had to take him out,” said Arteta. “He felt something so we didn’t want to take any risks.
“We don’t know [the diagnosis], I haven’t spoken to the doctors yet. So they will check him now and see how he is.”
