The Arsenal dressing room was in uproar after Manchester City players made comments about their use of the ‘dark arts’, a fresh report has claimed.
On Sunday John Stones netted a dramatic 98th-minute equaliser as City denied a 10-man Arsenal a statement victory at the Etihad.
Stones squeezed the ball past David Raya to level the scores at 2-2 and prevent City from falling to their first home defeat since November 2022.
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The game, which saw Leandro Trossard pick up a second yellow card for kicking the ball away after he was initially penalised for a barge on Bernardo Silva, was fiery and resulted in a furious scrap between players at the final whistle.
And according to the Independent, such fury filtered down to the dressing room. The publication claimed that even before Trossard’s red, some of the Arsenal dressing room had complained that moments like Declan Rice's red card against Brighton never seem to happen to City.
Meanwhile, City have allegedly privately pointed to Arsenal’s time wasting and on-pitch issues.
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The Independent report alleged that there was some “behind-the-scenes furore about reported complaints to the PGMOL regarding the gamesmanship of Arteta's team”.
Such complaints are said to have come “as news to those at Arsenal”, given it had never been mentioned to them. The Gunners are said to have insisted that even referees feel “everyone uses dark arts”.
After the game Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta told Sky Sports: "It's unbelievable what the players did.
“The way we played in the normal conditions were already super difficult, that's why they haven't lost here for 40-something games.
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“Then the context of what was thrown against 10 men for 55/56 minutes. That tells you the story, that tells you the character of our players and I'm extremely proud of them.
"We went 2-1 up and then there were two very similar incidents, in particular one with a very different outcome [Trossard sent off] that forces you to play a game that nobody wanted to watch. I'm not talking about anything, I'm just saying what happened.
“I think it's very obvious. I don't need to talk about it.
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"It's not my job to come here and judge what happened. My job is to survive in the most difficult environment you can throw in football for 55 minutes and try to get things done to survive.
“The rest is not my job and it's already the second time that [an Arsenal player has been sent off] has happened in five games, which is really worrying if we want to see the best Premier League. It's very hard to rally against 11 players; with 10, it's impossible."
Topics: Arsenal, Manchester City, Premier League, John Stones, Mikel Arteta
Chris Byfield