Erling Haaland seemed to toss the ball at Gabriel’s back of the head, which led to his getting into a heated argument with Arsenal’s coaching staff and referees on the touchline.
Up until the eighth minute of stoppage time, City was trailing Arsenal 2-1 at home. However, the Blues were celebrating John Stones’ last-minute equaliser.
Haaland is seen grabbing the ball and hurling it straight at Arsenal defender Gabriel’s head, who was facing the City striker, in the instant aftermath of the goal. Whether the throw was deliberate or not, it ignited the touch paper between the two players on the whistle, involving the coaching staff in addition to the two sets of players.
Man City’s Erling Haaland (left) and Arsenal’s Gabriel (right) squared-up at the game’s whistle
A blow-by-blow of the ball-throwing incident between Haaland and Arsenal defender Gabriel
Arsenal can be seen picking up the ball from the net after John Stones’ last-gasp equaliser
The ball ricochets off Gabriel’s head as City players celebrate the equalising goal
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Haaland’s action lit a fuse between the two players at the game’s conclusion
A heated discussion between the coaching staff and both teams of players followed the event.
However, Stones and Pep Guardiola’s Blues had other ideas, and thanks to a tenacious effort, both teams were only separated by one point.
Stones revealed what Guardiola instructed him to do on the pitch in a post-match interview with Sky Sports. In order to get more crosses in and possibly try to win a few aerial duels, he [Guardiola] wanted me to play closer to Erling and higher up the pitch, according to Stones.In a post-match interview, Stones discussed how Pep Guardiola allows players of all positions to move freely in order to create pressure that is steady and fluid.
“Everyone plays in the pockets, and he’s so interchangeable that he can spot when someone isn’t in the right place to be there.”
“But I made an effort to continue and get in the right spots, and fortunately it fell for me. I’m really happy to score a goal like that.”
Over the course of his August 2016 transfer from Everton to the Etihad Stadium, Stones has made over 250 appearances for City across all competitions.