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.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Sky Sports (via Screenshot)

Sport

Jürgen Klopp reveals the main reason he turned down the Manchester United job

Danny Jones Danny Jones The reason why Jurgen Klopp turned down the Man United manager job

Former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp has revealed one of the main reasons he turned down the Manchester United job more than a decade ago.

The ex-Borussia Dortmund boss turned Merseyside hero spent nine years at Anfield, going on to win a Champions League, Premier League, and a collection of cups.

It’s also worth noting that this all came in the years following the departure of legendary Man United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, but there could have been an alternate reality where Klopp carried on where ‘Fergie’ left off, as the now 58-year-old says the club spoke to him during that time.

With Sir Alex leaving in 2013 after the best part of 30 years, Klopp told Steven Bartlett on his most recent Diary of A CEO episode that “of course, they were interested.”

Admitting that the interest was mutual “at one point”, the prospect of joining Liverpool‘s historic rivals clearly appealed to him.

Noting that he was flourishing as an up-and-coming coach (aged 46 back then) in charge of an impressive Dortmund team – adding that even some of his then future players to be at Liverpool flew to watch them play in the Champions League – it’s clear he had plenty of suitors.

However, the retired German footballer turned ‘Gegenpressing’ tactician goes on to explain that despite United trying to poach him from the Bundesliga, it was “the wrong time, wrong moment for me.”

Crucially, he says that some aspects of the conversations between him and the club at the time proved to be a turn-off rather than an incentive, citing talk of ‘the biggest club in the world’ and supposedly “signing any player we want.”

In short, Klopp says that, crucially, it didn’t sound like it would have been his project, drawing parallels to the board wanting to bring back players like Paul Pogba, with arguably similar ‘mistakes’ being made with the return of Cristiano Ronaldo. In his eyes, looking backwards simply “never helps”.

You can see the clip in full here:

Had he not turned down the offer, do you think Klopp could have helped rebuild Man United?

According to Klopp, after negotiations seemed to revolve primarily around the kind of players they were going to bring in, he decided the opportunity wasn’t for him.

Nevertheless, it looked like things worked out for Merseyside’s biggest club, at least, as he went on to become one of the most successful managers in the Premier League, managing to break up the long period of dominance overseen by both Manchester United and, most recently, Man City.

As for the red half of Manchester, they at the very least had a good weekend as they finally ended their long wait for a win away against Liverpool.

In case you missed it, you can watch the highlights – including another big clutch goal from Harry Maguire – down below.

What an ending that was, eh?

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Featured Images — Diary of a CEO (screenshots via YouTube)/Tim Reckmann (via WikiCommons)

Sport

A 5k charity event where runners dress up as Pitbull is coming to Manchester city centre

Danny Jones Danny Jones Pitbull fancy dress 5k charity run Manchester

Yep, you read it right the first time – a regular 5k charity run returns to Manchester this month, only this time, those taking part will be dressed up as Pitbull for some reason…

Don’t ask us, we just thought it was funny and it’s for a good cause, so why the hell not?

For a little context, this is the latest idea from Slow Run Club: a local running organisation that takes place weekly at three different locations across Greater Manchester.

We know ‘Mr Worldwide’ himself has been and gone, having played a couple of nights in Manchester earlier this year, but these lot have decided two nights of yelling ‘Timberrrr’ still wasn’t quite enough and asking those joining the October fundraising 5k to dress up like the one and only Pitbull.

In case you missed it when ‘Dale’ fever took over the city streets this past summer, bald caps, sunglasses, black felt goatees and drawn-on moustaches descended upon central Manchester as they have been all over the UK and beyond for his live shows.

Was it utterly daft? Yes. Was it still one of THE best gig crowds we’ve seen in yonks? Absolutely.

The 44-year-old Floridian rapper and resurgent pop star played multiple nights at the Co-op Live, and they were brilliant, but we’re not going to pretend that the best wasn’t seeing the sea of shiny bald heads and shades in suits and ties.

It’s rare that you see such a shared moment of abandoning inhibitions and embracing the silliness; it was genuinely so great to see, and it’s that same energy that these guys are trying to tap into. Put simply, it’s about letting go and dancing like no one’s watching.

Teaming up with fellow charity-focused running group, Run The Streets MCR, Slow Run Club (SRC)’s Pitbull fancy-dress-themed run is just the latest in a growing trend of alternative ways to get some exercise in.

You can ‘run and rave’ as part of this new charity-driven social in Manchester city centre
After you’ve gone all ‘305’ at the Pitbull run, these Manchester runners are worth looking into as well.

Having done everything from the regular fancy dress Halloween runs to Oasis, Sabrina Carpenter, ABBA-themed runs, and many more, you’d be surprised how much you don’t care about what people think when you’re running around and dancing to tunes – especially when it’s for charity.

Once again, the Slow Run Club x Run The Streets MCR ‘Pitbull Edition’ 5k charity run takes place this month on Wednesday, 22 October, from 6:30pm onwards outside The Tap House on Circle Square, just off the Oxford Road Corridor, before setting off at a laid-back social pace.

This is the same place and time you’ll find SRC’s city centre regular meet-up every week; speaking to The Manc, founder Holly Spiers said: “We run from The Taphouse every Wednesday (just not usually dressed as Pitbull) and offer an inclusive pace as well as rest stops.”

Speaking of fancy dress, if you haven’t seen the group of four mates who made history at the 2025 Manchester Half, stop what you’re doing and read this:

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For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Audio North/Slow Run Club MCR

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