Arsenal chief ‘STORMED OUT of director’s box and REFUSED to shake hands with Man City execs’ after John Stones’ 98th-minute equaliser in Gunners’ fiery draw at the Etihad
- Arsenal had to settle for a point with ten men after Stones’ late equaliser
- The Gunners saw Leandro Trossard dismissed for delaying the restart
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Arsenal vice-chairman Tim Lewis has reportedly walked out of the directors’ box at the Etihad Stadium and refused to shake hands with his Man City colleagues following the Gunners’ heated draw with the champions.
The thrilling Premier League match ended in a draw thanks to John Stones’ 98th-minute equaliser. The equaliser came after the home side had besieged the opposition’s penalty area in the first half.
Pep Guardiola’s side had taken the lead in the match after Erling Haaland scored his 100th goal for the club, but Arsenal came back with two goals before half-time through Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel.
However, the cause of the Gunners’ anger after the match – and the reason for the total imbalance in the second half – was when Leandro Trossard was shown a second yellow card for delaying the restart.
According to The SunStones’ late equaliser so enraged the Arsenal director that he stormed from his seat and did not return to shake hands with his hosts, as is customary.
Arsenal director Tim Lewis (right) has reportedly stormed from his chair after refusing to shake hands with his Man City colleagues following the Gunners’ draw
John Stones broke through Arsenal’s determined defence with an equaliser in the 98th minute
The visitors camped in their own penalty area for the entire second half
The report goes on to claim that other members of Arsenal’s board were allowed to apologise for Lewis’ absence and contact City’s senior management.
The incident is yet another example of the animosity between the two clubs, both on and off the field.
Immediately after Stones’ shot, Haaland was seen picking up the ball and throwing it straight at the head of Arsenal defender Gabriel, who had his back to the City striker.
After the final whistle, the Norwegian approached Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and told him to ‘stay humble’, while clapping the Spaniard on the shoulder. Former City striker Gabriel Jesus then confronted Haaland about his remark. ‘Come on, why are you saying (this), talking?’ asked the Brazilian.
“What are you talking about? I wasn’t talking about shit, clown,” Haaland replied as he towered over his opponent and shoved him.
“Touch me not,” said Jesus.
“What are you talking about? Get the f*** away from me, you f***ing clown,” came Haaland’s final gasp before Jack Grealish stepped between them.
The Gunners were furious at Michael Oliver’s decision to sack Leandro Trossard (second left) for delaying the restart
Erling Haaland was seen throwing the ball at the back of Gabriel’s head after Stones’ goal
After the final whistle, Haaland told Mikel Arteta to ‘stay humble’ after the turbulent draw
The rivalry between City and Arsenal has intensified over the past two seasons due to their neck-and-neck race for the Premier League title.
In preparation for Arsenal’s League Cup clash with Bolton on Wednesday, Arteta refused to accept blame for the red cards shown to Trossard and Declan Rice, who was previously cautioned for a similar offence.
The Gunners manager was asked if he had reminded his players not to kick the ball away.
“To pass the ball,” Arteta replied. He added: “Just leave the ball, don’t touch the ball. We play without the ball.”
Arteta also defended Arsenal’s 10-man defensive approach at the Etihad Stadium, with the Gunners sitting deep in an attempt to maintain a 2-1 lead.
The Arsenal manager was referring to their 5-0 defeat to Manchester City in 2021, when former captain Granit Xhaka was sent off for defending their tactics.
“Well, we had to play the game we had to play,” Arteta said.
‘The first 10, 15 minutes we couldn’t play 11 against 11. After that we got much better. Then we were thrown into a completely different context and we did what every team does.
“They played with 10 men for 30 seconds. Look what they did for 30 seconds. It’s normal what they did. We had to do it in a different way.
“We have learned from the past. Unfortunately, we have been in the same situation a few times. We were in the same situation with Granit (Xhaka) after 38 minutes and we lost 5-0. We have to learn from it. Otherwise I would be fat, very fat.”
