Arsene Wenger believes a rift in the squad and management team is part of the reason for the bust-up involving Liverpool icon Sadio Mane and Leroy Sane.
The Senegal star was fined a reported €300,000-a-week for his role in a punch-up that left the former Manchester City attacker with a bruised lip. It had sparked from a supposed incident on the pitch during their Champions League first-leg defeat to Pep Guardiola's side.
Mane, it has been alleged, punched his Bayern Munich teammate as the pair had to be pulled apart. Subsequently, he has apologised to the German international and his Bavarian teammates but as part of his punishment he was forced to sit out of their 1-1 draw with TSG Hoffenheim on Saturday.
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He returned to the squad for their deciding clash against City with the Citizens holding a three-goal advantage over their quarter-final rivals. Mane replaced Sane in the second-half but couldn't inspire a comeback at the Allianz Arena as they drew 1-1, losing 4-1 on aggregate.
Wenger, who appeared on BEIN Sports for their coverage of the Champions League, had a theory for why the problems occurred. He said: "There is a rift in the team and the management inside the club has to sort it out.
"The only way to sort this problem out is communication. You have to create the trust and the communication inside the dressing room.
"Most of the time when you have this problem with two players, you take them into the office and you explain to them that 'we cannot be successful if the players inside the team do not cooperate well together'."
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