Gabriel breaks silence over 'provocative' Haaland throwing ball at him

FOR two teams who have done so much to take the game forward this really was a tremendous throwback.

We thought these games had been lost.

Real feisty encounters between two rivals fighting for the top honours.

How we used to love it when Manchester United came up against Arsenal when Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger were in charge.

When Roy Keane, watching on as a TV pundit here, used to clash with Patrick Vieira before a ball had been kicked.

The Manchester derbies used to have it as well.

In fact that were clashes everywhere throughout the league.

Since then the emphasis on the beauty of the game, the tactical side, the ball playing centre-back, the false nine, the inverted full-backs have all come to the fore.

But English football still loves something like this.

Compare this to the two matches between this pair last season not least the really STALEmate here.

Then along comes a blood and thunder classic.

A match to set the tone for what we all hope will be a real title tussle to the end but with that added edge.

While these two managers maybe good friends who knows we may even get the niggly comments in pre-match press conferences about each others teams.

We knew we were in for something a bit different as straight from the kick-off Kai Havertz charged into Rodri and left him flawed.

The first players’ melee ensued.

Foreign coaches often scratch their heads as to why English crowds love stuff like this.

Love a thumping tackle, or a bit of a barney.

How that as much as any sweeping move gets them to the edge of their seats and there was plenty of that here.

Jurrien Timber was employed on the right to combat the pace of Jeremy Doku.

SO Doku just charged into him and floored him.

Rodri was clearly seen as one of City’s key men so at a corner Thoams Party followed up Havertz’s early example and caught him behind the knee, and the player hobbled out of the action.

Gabriel and Erling Haaland was a classic battle between a big centre-forward and an Arsenal centre-back who performs like greats of old like Tony Adams and Martin Keown.

A player for whom a thumping tackle warrants the same high fives or celebrations as something defining at the other end of the pitch.

Haaland did brilliantly to pull away William Saliba and slip behind Gabriel for his goal.

Gabriel will have been fuming having kept the big Norwegian so quiet last season.

He barely gave him another sniff of goal, barring a second-half header saved, as he stuck to him, the pair often pushing and shoving one another as Haaland became frustrated with his shadow.

Leandro Trossard did not get his second yellow and therefore the only red for the actual barge on Bernardo as everyone first thought but for kicking the ball away after that.

Both technical areas were a flurry of arm waving and shouting from the two managers.

The staff on the two benches started having a go at each other and Guardiola had to intervene.

In the press box one of Arsenal’s technical staff was losing it.

As Arsenal players went down with cramp and played for time the boos went up.

The fourth official was getting in the ear.

Michael Oliver was being told he was not fit to referee by a large section of the home support.

When Arsenal fans were spotted in the posh seats having been in the expensive tunnel club City fans shouted and pointed to try and get them ejected.

Right at the end after City’s dramatic equaliser and the game restarted Haaland barged into Partey and every player on the pitch got involved even the two goalkeepers.

At the final whistle the ref was harrangued.

On the touchline Guardiola and Arteta hugged.