Manchester City's celebrations after their huge win over Arsenal on Wednesday were spoiled somewhat by an incident involving Ben White and Phil Foden.
White had played all 90 minutes from right-back for the Gunners, who saw their title hopes evaporate with a 4-1 defeat. Foden, meanwhile, came on for Jack Grealish with three minutes to go as City looked to see out a win that puts them firmly in control of the title race.
As the two teams shook hands after referee Michael Oliver blew the final whistle, White congratulated Rodri and Julian Alvarez. Foden had been walking away from that group to shake hands with Arsenal sub Leandro Trossard.
But White moved towards the City substitute and appeared to grab him by the back of the shirt. The two opponents then exchanged words before White grabbed Foden by the shirt at the shoulder level as the City star attempted to push him away.
Foden finally broke free by shoving White, with team-mate Bernardo Silva soon arriving on the scene. Foden then walked away, with Erling Haaland approaching White along with a number of other City players to voice their displeasure at the Arsenal star.
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Players from both teams then tried to separate the warring parties, before stewards also stepped in and White eventually walked away. Two goals from Kevin De Bruyne, a John Stones header and Erling Haaland's late strike secured the win for City.
Though Rob Holding grabbed a late consolation, it was a chastening evening for the visitors. Those frustrations appeared to bubble over in the incident between White and Foden, with Arsenal now left needing City to drop points to keep their title ambitions alive.
Boss Mikel Arteta was left disappointed with his side's performance as they were outmatched in every area. And he admitted that the Gunners had been second best throughout the title clash.
"The analysis is clear: the better team won the game. They were probably at their best, especially in the first half, and we were nowhere near our level," the Arsenal boss said.
"When that happens, the gap becomes too big and in the first 30 minutes we didn’t do all the basic things that you have to do against an exceptional team, in terms of competing, winning duels and understanding what the game requires.
"We got punished and we could have been punished even more. They were better in every department. They were more aggressive, they kept the ball better, they won every single duel. We had them in the corners and from there, in two passes, they were in front of our goal.
"We conceded from a set play and from a throw-in against us too easily. They deserved to win the game because they were better. We could not grab the game the way we wanted and that’s credit to them as well, because they were really good."
