- Ten-man Arsenal were forced to settle for a point after Stones’ late equaliser
- The Gunners had seen Leandro Trossard dismissed for delaying the restart
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Arsenal executive vice-chair Tim Lewis reportedly stormed out of the director’s box at the Etihad and refused to shake the hands of his Man City counterparts after the Gunner’s hot-tempered draw with the champions.
The feisty Premier League clash ended in a stalemate thanks to John Stones’ 98th-minute equaliser, which came after a half in which the home side laid siege to their opponents penalty area.
Pep Guardiola’s side had taken the lead in the game after Erling Haaland netted his 100th goal for the club but Arsenal fought back with two goals before the break through Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel.
But the root of the Gunners’ post-match ire – and the reason for the second half’s total unbalance – came when Leandro Trossard was shown a second yellow card for delaying the restart.
According to The Sun, Stones’ late leveller enraged the Arsenal executive to the point that he stormed out of his seat and did not return to shake hands with his hosts, as is customary.
Arsenal executive Tim Lewis (right) reportedly stormed out of his seat after refused to shake the hands of his Man City counterparts after the Gunners’ draw
John Stones broke Arsenal’s determined defence with a 98th-minute equaliser from close range
The visitors were camped into their own box for the entirety of the second half after being reduced to 10 men
The report goes onto claim that fellow members of the Arsenal board were left to apologise for Lewis’ absence and mingle with City’s top brass.
The incident is yet another example of the enmity between the two clubs, both on and off the pitch.
Immediately after Stones’ strike, Haaland could be seen picking the ball up and throwing it directly at Arsenal defender Gabriel’s head, who had his back to the City striker.
Then after the final whistle, the Norwegian approached Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta and told him to ‘stay humble’, while slapping the Spaniard on the shoulder. Former City striker Gabriel Jesus then confronted Haaland over his comment. ‘Come, why are you saying (this), talking?’ asked the Brazilian.
‘Talking about what? I wasn’t talking s***, clown,’ came Haaland’s retort as he towered over his opponent before shoving him.
‘Don’t touch me,’ said Jesus.
‘What are you talking about? Get the f*** away from me you f***ing clown,’ came Haaland’s final bite before Jack Grealish got in between them.
The Gunners were enraged by Michael Oliver’s decision to dismiss Leandro Trossard (second from left) for delaying the restart
Erling Haaland could be seen throwing the ball at the back of Gabriel’s head after John Stones’ equaliser
Then after the final whistle Haaland told Mikel Arteta to ‘stay humble’ after the eventful draw
The rivalry has intensified between City and Arsenal in the last two seasons due to their close-fought battles for the Premier League title.
Ahead of Arsenal’s League Cup tie against Bolton on Wednesday, Arteta refused to accept the blame for the red cards shown to Trossard and Declan Rice – who was sent his marching orders for a similar infraction – in recent matches.
The Gunners boss was asked if he had reminded his players against kicking the ball away.
‘For passing the ball,’ Arteta responded. He added: ‘Just leave the ball, don’t touch the ball. We play without he ball.’
Arteta also defended Arsenal’s defensive approach with 10-men at the Etihad Stadium, with the Gunners sitting deep in an attempt to preserve a 2-1 lead.
The Arsenal boss referred to their 5-0 defeat by Manchester City in 2021 when former captain Granit Xhaka was sent off as he defended their tactics.
‘Well, we had to play the game that we had to play,’ said Arteta.
‘The first 10, 15 minutes, we couldn’t with 11 vs 11. Then we got much better. Then we were thrown in a very different context and did what every team does.
‘They played 30 seconds with 10 men. Look what they did for 30 seconds. It’s normal what they did. We had to do it in a different way.
‘We learnt from the past. Unfortunately we’ve been in the same situation a few times. We were in that same situation with Granit (Xhaka) after 38 minutes and we lost 5-0. We’d better learn. If not I would be thick, very thick.’
