The Tottenham forward appeared to ignore his Arsenal counterpart when Martinelli – who has about to take a corner – reached out to fist bump Richarlison before he was brought on as a late substitute.
Despite the north London derby largely favouring the home side in recent years, Spurs fell behind in meek fashion during a poor first-half.
A Hugo Lloris own goal and Martin Odegaard gave Mikel Arteta’s side what turned out to be a routine win even despite a slightly improved Spurs performance after the break.
“I’d like to apologise to Martinelli,” Richarlison told ESPN.
“I told him he was diving a lot, so I didn’t shake his hand.
“Also, with Gabriel Magalhaes, I told him they were stopping play all the time. I just said, ‘let’s play’.”
Arsenal now sit eight points clear at the top of the Premier League while Antonio Conte’s face a fight to finish in the top four.
The game was marred by ugly scenes after the full-time whistle as a Tottenham fan appeared to kick out at Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.
