DBasia.news – Neal Maupay said the Arsenal players were less humble and believed they deserved the defeat after being defeated by Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1, Saturday (6/20) PM.
The Brighton striker also insisted he had no intention of injuring Bernd Leno, although the Arsenal goalkeeper looked furious and shouted at Maupay as he was stretched out, after the pair underwent physical contact on the field.
Replays showed Maupay pushing his body forward as Leno tried to catch the ball in the air, causing the German international goalkeeper to lose balance and land harshly, resulting in a severe injury to his right leg.
In addition to making Arsenal players upset over his injury to Leno, Maupay increasingly became an antagonist figure for the Gunners by scoring the deciding goal for Brighton a few seconds before the game ended. After the whistle, Matteo Guendouzi was seen surrounding him.
Speaking after the match, Maupay revealed he came to the Arsenal locker room at intervals to apologize and stressed that he did not intend to harm Leno.
However, his attitude still did not impress Arsenal fans. He told BT Sport: “During the first half break, I approached manager Mikel Arteta to apologize. I didn’t mean to hurt the goalkeeper. I jumped to catch the ball.”
“I apologize to the team and to him [Leno] too. I have had a serious injury too, it was difficult.”
“Arsenal players may sometimes need to learn humility. They talk a lot. They got what they deserve [defeat].”
“I was really aiming for the ball. When he [Leno] landed, his knee was dislocated. That’s football, there is physical contact. I never intended to hurt him. I apologized again and hope for him to recover soon.”