'Mikel Arteta was hit by a bottle moments after I demanded respect from the dressing room'

Former Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho's demand for respect from rivals Manchester City in 2017 led to current Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta being hit by a water bottle . On December 10, Pep Guardiola's City, who had won 13 consecutive top-flight matches, traveled to Old Trafford to face rivals United, managed by Mourinho.

With Arteta still assisting under the Spaniard, City scored first in the 43rd minute, but were immediately pegged back by Marcus Rashford in first-half injury time. Nicolas Otamendi scored a rebound after 54 minutes and Manchester's blue half held on for victory, opening up an 11-point gap at the top.

A penalty call in the 79th minute was the talk of the game after the match, and as both teams headed to the changing rooms, one more frustrated than the other, tensions escalated and a bottle was thrown. launched.

As Mourinho remembered his players in shock, City's celebrations were raucous, prompting the Portuguese coach to enter the rival Cityzens' domain, allegedly asking them to “show more respect”.

This sparked a fiery response from Man City's enraged cohort, who reportedly splashed water in the manager's direction and threw a milk carton at one of his employees.

The ensuing brawl saw Mourinho demand more respect, apparently clashing with City goalkeeper Ederson as tensions soared, during which Arteta suffered a head injury from a water bottle – thrown in an incident in which Romelu Lukaku was involved but whose involvement has not been proven.

After the match, both coaches reflected on the events, with Guardiola expressing regret for any offense caused: “What happened in the dressing room happened. Let's hope it never happens again.

“If we weren't right, I apologize to Manchester United. But that wasn't our intention – it was to celebrate in the dressing room, and if people can't understand that, I'm sorry, we won a derby.

“At times, United have done a lot of celebrating in the past against City. All I can say is that it was a game on a beautiful stage and in a beautiful stadium. The players were in the game, all the time. world is fighting to win the game.

“After the match the players shook hands, no problem. Some players went to celebrate with the fans as usual. I encouraged the players to celebrate the result. I was the guy who encouraged them to celebrate at the moment.

“When United win they celebrate, when Arsenal win against United they celebrate, when Arsenal won the FA Cup last season they celebrate… But where? In the dressing room. People must understand that we were happy. I think that all the teams all over the world, when they win a derby, they are so happy.”

Mourinho responded to comments comparing Manchester United's celebrations to those of his rivals: “The only thing I can say is that, for me, it was about diversity. The diversity of behavior, the diversity of education… diversity of behavior, opinion, education.

“What we did at the Arsenal stadium, you know? It was completely diverse [to City’s conduct]. What we did, what happened after that match, the way we handled ourselves as winners.”