Guardiola coy on Walker spat with Arsenal
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola refused to comment on an altercation between City defender Kyle Walker and Arsenal set-piece coach Nicolas Jover after the champions suffered back-to-back Premier League defeats for the first time in five years on Sunday.
Gabriel Martinelli’s 86th-minute shot beat City goalkeeper Éderson after a massive deflection off defender Nathan Aké’s face, giving Arsenal a 1-0 win at The Emirates and moving Mikel Arteta’s unbeaten team into second place in the table.
However, with City sliding to third place following the setback, which followed last week’s 2-1 loss at Wolves, tempers flared when full-back Walker and Jover, who used to work for City, faced off outside the tunnel as the sides exited the ground.
Jover appeared to extend his hand to Walker, who declined to shake it before continuing on his way. The City player then returned to assault Jover before being dragged away by teammate Erling Haaland.
Arsenal forward Bukayo Saka, who was injured and missed the game, also intervened to pull Jover away from the situation.
Guardiola refused to mention the issue in a postgame news conference after the game, but acknowledging that he was aware of what had occurred.
City’s setback has harmed their chances of becoming the first team in English football history to win four consecutive league titles. And Guardiola believes that early season hiccups will help reduce the burden on his team to make history.
