'He could break my leg' - Arsenal given red card verdict after 'nasty' Gabriel Martinelli tackle

Former Premier League midfielder Steve Sidwell has claimed that Christian Norgaard's tackle on winger Gabriel Martinelli was on the borderline of a red card.

The Brentford captain brought down the Gunners star with a two-footed tackle in the first-half of

Norgaard had both feet up in the air and hooked his body around the Brazilian to stop him venturing forward. Mikel Arteta called for further punishment to the fourth official after

READ MORE:

READ MORE:

After the game, the challenge was a topic of conversation on Sky Sports between Sidwell, Jamie Redknapp and Dave Jones. "When you're seeing the replays, if a red card was given, you wouldn't go against it," Sidwell said.

"It's on that borderline where if it wasn't given you go, 'OK, there's no real malice to injury or hurt the player'. I've been there before where your right leg goes to get the ball and your left leg trails on after.

"Sometimes you can do a scissor tackle to take the player down, in that motion, which I don't think that was in that case."

Redknapp added: "We know it's not a pretty tackle and it's a desperate tackle because Norgaard knows he hasn't got the pace to match up with Martinelli and he's just trying to stop him.

"He goes in with two feet and hooks his body around. You don't see them as a red card so I don't feel like it is. Is it a dangerous tackle, of course it is."

Speaking after the frustrating draw with Brentford, Martinelli was asked about his thoughts on the challenge. "I didn't see that again but in the moment if my foot was on the floor he could break my leg," he said.

"He [Norgaard] said he didn't mean it. I believe him but still he could have broken my leg. For me it was red. I need to see it again to be sure. But for me it was nasty."