Myles Lewis-Skelly, the 17-year-old player for Arsenal, appeared to be confronted by Erling Haaland, who made a crude joke about him. On Sunday, Haaland gave Manchester City the lead against the Gunners. But after that early goal, he had a miserable afternoon as the 10-man visitors mounted a determined comeback.
The Gunners holed up in their box after Leandro Trossard was sent off for an additional bookable offense. After John Stones' equaliser in the 98th minute, Haaland had multiple run-ins against the Arsenal defenders, notably one where he threw the ball at Gabriel's head. Moments after full time, players from both teams got into a bit of a brawl, which escalated tensions. For City, Haaland was the focal point, and surprisingly, Lewis-Skelly also contributed.
The 17-year-old was booked by Michael Oliver, the referee, for protesting while seated on the bench, so he entered the game as a late substitute. After the last whistle, Erling Haaland and Gabriel got into a heated argument.
When Lewis-Skelly intervened to end the argument, Haaland became enraged. The City striker was seen on TV turning to face Lewis-Skelly and seemingly mouthing the words "who the f*** are you?" at the Arsenal prodigy several times. Jakub Kiwior, Ben White, and Ilkay Gundogan all got engaged as they stood up for their teammates. Things did settle down in the end, as both teams left the pitch to head to their dressing rooms.
Pep Guardiola on Arsenal’s time-wasting tactics
As Arsenal used every trick in the book to bring down the play, City's frustrations grew throughout the second half. Oliver was often protested to by the hosts regarding their opponents.
Pep Guardiola backed his counterpart’s tactics for their game as he said, "Maybe I would have done the same because it is with ten men. You have to ask Mikel [Arteta] what the tactic was. They were good with the long balls into Kai Havertz who is so strong and they go for the second balls. In the end we were patient, had the chances and got the goal. That's all."