Mikel Arteta was hit in the head with a plastic bottle during a dressing room altercation that followed a Manchester Derby in the 2017/18 season, leaving the then-Manchester City coach bleeding from a cut.
Arteta, now Arsenal manager, was part of Pep Guardiola's coaching staff at the Etihad Stadium at the time. The incident occurred after City's 2-1 win at Old Trafford, with goals from David Silva and Nicolas Otamendi securing a 14th consecutive victory for the league leaders.
Celebrations trigger confrontation
The visitors' celebrations, which included ticker tape and loud music, reportedly displeased United manager Jose Mourinho. He was said to have been sprayed with water after calling for more respect from City's players, and a carton of milk was thrown in his direction, missing him but hitting another United staff member.
Arteta was struck by a plastic bottle in the fallout. The identity of the thrower was never confirmed, though no punches were thrown in the dispute, according to the clubs.
Managers respond
Reports at the time suggested things quickly calmed down, with players soon chatting normally. In his post-match press conference, Mourinho compared City's conduct unfavourably to United's behaviour after their win at Arsenal the previous week.
"What we did in the Arsenal stadium, you know? It was completely diverse [to City's conduct]," he said. "What we did, what happened after that match, the way we behaved as winners."
Guardiola addressed the matter, saying: "What happened in the locker room happened. Hopefully it is never going to happen again." He added: "If we were not correct then I apologise to Manchester United. But our intention was not that – it was to celebrate inside the locker room and if people cannot understand that, I'm sorry, we won a derby."
Guardiola also said he was the one who urged the players to celebrate, and noted that United had made many celebrations over City in the past.
Aftermath on the pitch
The fallout did not disturb City's start to the season. They won their next four league games, scoring 13 times, en route to a Premier League record 100-point season.
United responded with an eight-game unbeaten run and won the reverse fixture at the Etihad Stadium, coming from 2-0 down to secure second place behind their rivals.
