Mikel Arteta and Kevin De Bruyne had a run-in on Wednesday night but the Belgian clearly respects the Arsenal manager.
The incident happened in the second half of the Gunners’ match against title challenger Manchester City. Given that it was a first-versus-second matchup and Pep Guardiola’s team won 3-1 in north London to overtake Arsenal for first place, the stakes were high.
The tension in the stadium was tremendous. It appeared to manifest both on the field and in the various dugouts even though the game was evenly poised at 1-1. Arteta frequently has a strong personality in his technical area, but De Bruyne was the one who lost his cool.
In an apparent attempt to slow the game down, the Arsenal boss attempted to gently kick the ball out of De Bruyne’s path as he attempted to gather it for a throw-in. Before waving his finger in Arteta and his way, he shoved a former coach of his at the Etihad.
Before De Bruyne eventually got back into the game, there were a few more exchanges of words between the two. But it’s crucial to remember that after the full-time whistle sounded, the pair grinned and hugged.
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De Bruyne praised Arteta previously
Given that it has only been four months since De Bruyne praised Arteta. He explained how Arsenal’s exceptional form this season has not changed, that kind of adoration surely seems more appropriate.
Speaking in October, City’s midfield magician told Sky Sports: “No, not really [it doesn’t surprise me]. I think obviously a see a lot of similarities with the way that we play, but that has always been his style so I think when he stopped playing and came here it was a good learning school.“\
“I saw an evolution from the beginning of Mikel to after the three years when he left,” De Bruyne added. “At the beginning, he was adapting but then he was getting more and more into his role.”
“We also saw he had a lot of ambition and when an opportunity came he(Arteta) took that. It’s nice to see that he got the time from Arsenal. I’m happy for him that it’s going well.”
Things may not have been so friendly between the pair on Wednesday night, but given what was on the line that is understandable and their embrace at full-time suggests there is still plenty of goodwill towards one another.
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