Someone on the Arsenal bench, Erling Haaland, got into a fight with the referees and coaching staff because he seemed to throw the ball at Gabriel’s head.
Before the eighth minute of extra time, City was enjoying John Stones’ last-second goal that tied the game. The Blues were behind Arsenal 2-1 at home.
Right after the goal, Haaland can be seen picking up the ball and throwing it straight at Gabriel, an Arsenal player who was facing away from the City striker.
If the throw was intended or not, it set off a fight between the two players as soon as the whistle went off. Players from both teams and the coaching staff got involved.
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
Haaland’s action lit a fuse between the two players at the game’s conclusion
After the incident, both teams of players and teaching staff got into a heated argument.
Leandro Trossard was sent off before halftime, leaving Arsenal with ten players. They looked like they would hold on for a famous win at the Etihad.
But Stones and Pep Guardiola’s Blues had other ideas. They fought hard, and in the end, both teams tied with one point.
After the game, Stones talked about the last orders Pep Guardiola gave him before he came on. He was the unexpected hero for Manchester City in their exciting 2-2 draw with Arsenal.
As long as Arsenal had 10 players on the field, they looked like they were going to win. But in the 98th minute, Stones was in the right place at the right time to score the equalizer.
Kyle Walker, who was playing right back, was taken off the field by Stones in the 78th minute.
However, the center back was put up front with star striker Erling Haaland as City threw everything at Arsenal to tie the game, which they did.
Sky Sports talked to Stones after the game, and he told them what Guardiola told him to do on the field.
“He [Guardiola] wanted me to play higher up the field and closer to Erling so that I could lay off more balls and hopefully win a few aerial duels,” Stones said.
In an interview after the game, Stones talked about how Pep Guardiola lets players in all places move around freely to create pressure that is consistent and fluid.
“He’s so interchangeable; everyone plays in pockets; he moves so fluidly and can tell when someone else isn’t in the right place to take it.”
“But I kept trying to get to the right spot, and lucky for me, it fell to me. I’m really happy to score that.”
Since moving from Everton to City in August 2016, Stones has played more than 250 times for City in all categories.