Virgil van Dijk was critical of Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli for his reaction to Conor Bradley’s injury in Liverpool’s goalless draw at the Emirates
Virgil van Dijk during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Liverpool at Emirates Stadium on January 08, 2026(Image: James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)
Virgil van Dijk says everyone at Liverpool is with Conor Bradley. And the Reds captain has criticised Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli for his reaction to the defender’s injury.
Bradley pulled up with what is now feared to be a potentially serious issue in stoppage time as he attempted to hook clear the ball during the 0-0 draw at the Emirates. Martinelli was panned for trying to push the Northern Ireland international off the pitch after initially throwing the ball at him.
Bradley left London on crutches with Liverpool fearing the worst and the Arsenal winger took to social media in the early hours of Friday to reveal he had reached out to apologise to the right-back.
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The incident saw the Brazil international slammed by Sky Sports pundits Roy Keane, Daniel Sturridge and Gary Neville and left many Reds players furious at the time.
And Van Dijk has insisted it was poor from Martinelli. “It is pretty obvious for you guys to analyse it from clips,” said the Liverpool skipper. “For us, it goes pretty quickly. The long ball came, Conor is challenging for it, he falls down on the pitch and obviously Martinelli pushes him off the pitch and our players reacted.
“We all came together. And we had no clue what really happened, but it doesn’t look great and it doesn’t look great on Martinelli either. We are focusing on Conor now. He will have medical tests coming up in the next 24 hours and we will have to adapt.
“Everyone was unhappy at that moment. It wasn’t (just) 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.
“Our thoughts are with Conor, first and foremost. Hopefully it is not the worst, but it doesn’t look great. Other than that, our gameplan was outstanding in my opinion.
“We let their centre-backs have the ball because we felt like they wouldn’t be able to come up with an ID and that is why they didn’t create many chances against us.
“It doesn’t look great, but you can come out and try to go one-v-one and take the risk, but we all know a game is 90 minutes and at a certain point we would have the space to play and that is what happened in the second half.
“We were outstanding with the ball. It felt like it could have been more than a point, but I am very proud of the guys against a team that is very much in form.”
The Reds failed to have a shot on target for the first time in a game since 2010. The result means the Gunners remain 14 points clear of the defending champions as Arne Slot’s side extended their winless 2026 to three games after three successive draws.
Van Dijk, though, says he was pleased with how the team adapted against a league-leading Arsenal, who are unbeaten at home this term, adding: “It is absolutely a fact (that we are still champions), until someone else is.
“Listen, we have had very good performances throughout the season but not for 90 minutes. We have been very inconsistent, and consistency is the key to being successful and that has been proven. That is what we had last year and unfortunately in that sense we haven’t been good enough (this season).
“The only thing we can do is try and get it back and every three or four days we have an opportunity to do that, but we also need consistency in no injuries and that is unfortunately part of the game, and we are dealing with that as well.
“If you play for Liverpool, you have to play with confidence and still be confident even if it has been a very inconsistent season. There is an opportunity every three or four days.
“You want to go out there and enjoy yourself, but also to show your quality with every moment that you have, and there was a lot of noise around this game and a lot of talk around this game, and we managed everything pretty well and we had the biggest chance in the end with the ball on the crossbar.
“Winning breeds confidence and always helps. But we are in a position where we don’t want to be. We are the current champions. It has been a very inconsistent and difficult season so far and that is something I am personally not happy with, and we are not happy with as a team, as a club.
“But the only ones that can turn that around is us, with the manager, and that is what we work hard on each and every day. I have the belief and I am fully confident we have the players and staff to turn it around.”
