Leno was furious with Maupay after he landed awkwardly during the first half after a collision between the pair and was seen shouting at the Frenchman as he was being carried off the field on a stretcher.
Neal Maupay accused Arsenal of “lacking modesty” and claimed they had accomplished what they deserved in their 2-1 defeat at Brighton, with the Seagulls striker claiming he was not to blame for Bernd Leno ‘s injury.
Replays showed that the Brighton forward had barged Leno in the air, which meant that he was off-balance when he planted his right leg into the turf and suffered what seemed to be a serious injury.
To add insult to the injury of Arsenal, Maupay would go on to score the winner in stoppage time, with several Gunners players then watching the full-time whistle remonstrating with the Frenchman.
The former Brentford forward, speaking after the game, revealed that at the break he went to the Arsenal dressing room to apologize for the incident involving Leno, which he stressed was unintentional.
He was, however, left less than impressed with the Gunners’ behavior on the pitch. He said to BT Sport: “At half-time, I went to apologize to manager Mikel Arteta. I never intended to injure the keeper. I leaped to the goal. I apologize to the team, and also to him (Leno). I was through a bad injury, it’s really hard.”
The frustrations of Arsenal were in sharp contrast to the jubilant Brighton players who celebrated their first Premier League win in 2020 – a result that gave a real boost to their hopes for survival.
“I’m so happy because this is our first win this new year. It’s been the last few months the team has worked,” Maupay added.
