Kevin De Bruyne may have had a run-in with familiar face Mikel Arteta on Wednesday night, but the Belgian clearly holds the Arsenal boss in high regard.
The incident occurred during the second half of the Gunners' meeting with title rivals Manchester City at the Emirates on Wednesday night. The stakes were high considering it was a first versus second clash that saw Pep Guardiola's side leapfrog Arsenal into top-spot with a 3-1 win in north London.
While the game was evenly poised at 1-1, the tension inside the stadium was palpable and that seemed to translate both on the pitch and in the respective dug-outs. Arteta is often a fiery character in his technical area, but it was De Bruyne who let his temper get the better of him this time.
When the Arsenal manager tried to gently kick the ball away from De Bruyne's path while he tried to retrieve it for a throw-in, presumably in an effort to slow the game down, the City ace reacted. He shoved a man that used to coach him at the Etihad, before wagging his finger in Arteta's direction.
There were a few more verbals between the pair before De Bruyne eventually returned to action, though it is important to note that the duo smiled and embraced each other once the full-time whistle had been blown.
That kind of affection certainly seems more fitting considering it has only been four months since De Bruyne heaped praise on Arteta and explained how Arsenal's remarkable form this season has not been a surprise to him after seeing how good of a coach the Spaniard was up close.
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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 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.
