Sport

Cameras pick up heated exchange between Haaland, Arteta and Gabriel Jesus after City vs Arsenal match

Is a new rivalry with some actual bite finally born?

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 23rd September 2024

Man City vs Arsenal round one might have just dished up an early contender for game of the season and although the game itself was thrilling, it was the argument between Erling Haaland, Gabriel Jesus and Mikel Arteta that the cameras caught after the full-time whistle that fans are lapping up.

Following the frustration felt on both sides after an extremely tense 2-2 draw in the first real face-off for this year’s Premier League title, there were some heated words exchanged between Erling Haaland, ex-Manchester City striker Gabriel Jesus and their former coach Mikel Arteta.

Picked up by the Sky Sports cameras, a little jab from the big Norwegian resulted not only in a quick death stare by Arteta but also some rapid intervention from Jesus before the whole thing boiled over and they had to be separated.

Maybe it’s still too early to tell but this doesn’t look like just any old bit of beefing between two title contenders you’d get in any other season – it could be the start of a proper era of City vs Arsenal rivalry.

As you can see, Haaland – who made it 100 goals for City in 105 games (matching Cristiano Ronaldo’s first-to-a-century record for one club – turned a quick handshake with Pep Guardiola’s former right-hand man into a dig, patting him on the back and quipping, “Stay humble, eh?”

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While the Arsenal manager does turn to react, we’ll never know what he was about to say, if anything, as the club’s previous number-nine comes to his defence, asking why he feels the need to add such comments, at which point Haaland proceeds say “get the f*** away from you f***ing clown.”

The trio are eventually separated by Jack Grealish and other members of the technical staff but Arteta ultimately turns to calm down Jesus as the coverage cuts out.

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Nevertheless, the very widely broadcasted spat felt very vintage Barclays, with supporters of both teams and neutrals alike enjoying the feistiness of the exchange. Safe to say Haaland won’t be exchanging Christmas cards with Arteta or Jesus.

Reacting online, one person captioned the clip, “Elite level sports – you eat or get eaten! I love this”; another added, “Jheeez Haaland’s ego is maddd”, while a third simply wrote: “For what a season this is gonna be”. Meanwhile, match-hero John Stones had some choice words of his own after saving a point.

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Clearly feeling somewhat defiant and more lofted after scoring the equalising goal right at the death to keep the Blues’ unbeaten streak alive – 28 games unbeaten in the league and a whopping 47 games unbeaten at home – Stones had a pop of his own at Arsenal’s tactics.

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Speaking after the game, the 30-year-old said of their opponents ‘dark arts’ approach to the game: “I don’t know if they have mastered it, they’ve done it for a few years, and we know to expect that. You can call it clever, or dirty, whichever way you want to put it.

“They break up the game, and it upsets the rhythm for everyone. I thought we dealt with it really well. It’s not easy when those things are happening”, he continued, with teammate Bernardo Silva going on to argue: “There was only one team that came to play football. The other came to play to the limits of what was possible to do and allowed by the referee.”

Haaland was also spotted throwing the ball at the back of defender Gabriel’s head after the stoppage time equaliser, with the two later confronting each other, as well as barging over midfielder Thomas Partey despite being nowhere near the ball, but it’s said the FA will be taking not be investigating.

To put it in the words of popular online commentator and podcaster HLTCO, a.k.a. Dan Cook, “Aggro is back at the top of our game” and regardless of whether you’re sad to see love lost between the likes of Arteta, Jesus and their former employers, the vast majority seemed to have very much enjoyed it.

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Featured Images — Sky Sports (via Screenshot)