Pep Guardiola remained tight-lipped over Erling Haaland ’s furious showdown with an Arsenal coach at the Emirates Stadium.
It was a frustrating evening for the reigning Premier League champions on Sunday evening. City were lacking rhythm for large swaths of the game in North London, with Gabriel Martinelli’s deflected strike eventually condemning them to their third consecutive domestic defeat.
The emotions appeared to get all too much for the City players come the final whistle. Kyle Walker and Erling Haaland were involved in a few verbals with Arsenal’s set-piece coach Nicolas Jover. Arsenal security staff then intervened to calm the tensions.
Guardiola was asked about the showdown during his post-match press conference but refused to confirm specific details. Whilst shaking his head, the Spaniard said: “I know what happened but I don’t want to say anything. They know it.”
While Arteta did not open up on Haaland’s furious face-off, Sky Sports’ Gary Neville and Micah Richards had plenty to say. The former Manchester United defender joked: “Football players don’t like set-pieces on the training pitch, let alone the opposition set piece coach having a go.”
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After Theo Walcott ’s prior suggestion that City were just simply not used to winning, Richards replied: “It looked like he [Jover] was going to shake his hand and Kyle didn’t really want to.
“No, of course. We’re in October. If we were in March or April, I could understand frustration. They probably don’t want to go to Arsenal and lose but it’s not the end of the world.”
Erling Haaland and Kyle Walker clashed with Arsenal's backroom staff after the match (Sky Sports)What went wrong for Man City vs Arsenal? Share your thoughts in the comments below
Former Arsenal star Walcott then offered his view on the incident. He said: “As well, we always look at Man City as being very professional and not reacting in situations and that’s where I feel like a nerve has been hit here. He’s caught it there definitely.”
Defeat at the Emirates leaves Man City already with two league defeats to their name heading into the October international break, while they have also been eliminated from the Carabao Cup. Guardiola conceded his treble winners are entitled to an off day every now and again but is keen for City to return to their best form sooner rather than later.
He added: "Yeah, of course, we can lose in Wolves as well. Now we have two defeats in a row and then we have the internationals. Hopefully they come back fit and then we go again.
“Maybe it is a little bit better to be there and see what we have to do to catch them and then [we will] when we come back. It has happened. In Wolves it was a difficult game. Congratulations to Arsenal. We know exactly what we have to do and we do it."
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