I saw what Arsenal staff really thought about Man City as they left the Etihad amid Bernardo jibes

John Stones called Arsenal's tactics 'dirty'. Bernardo Silva insinuated that the Gunners did not try to play football and mocked their trophy cabinet. Manu Akanji called out Mikel Arteta's men for seeking drama, but vowed that Manchester City will win the league regardless of their dark arts (because they always do).

Just the normal post-match at the Etihad, then.

This was after Erling Haaland had bulldozed into Thomas Partey and then embarked on a sweary rant in the face of Mikel Arteta and Gabriel Jesus. Pep Guardiola tried to downplay the contentious incidents that went against his side, insisting they must be better. Arteta attempted to 'no comment' his way through his own press conference but ended up looking more the sore loser as he looked to distance himself from the obvious time-wasting tactics Arsenal deployed in the second half.

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Arteta was clearly not in a good mood, offering a parting remark at journalists for not asking him about tactics in his press conference. He flustered when challenged on basic questions - like why he couldn't understand that there were two extra minutes of stoppage time after David Raya spent two minutes receiving treatment, or why he felt kicking the ball away was not a yellow card offence.

Behind the scenes, however, Arsenal's camp painted a different picture.

Sporting director Edu breezed through the mixed zone en route to the team coach with a huge smile, greeting journalists and wishing them well. At least one other Arsenal coach did the same, while a number of Arsenal players left with City counterparts - Kai Havertz and Mateo Kovacic among those in conversation.

Declan Rice left with a City shirt in his bag, familiar with plenty of the home dressing room thanks to his England connections. Raya, who produced a fine performance when he wasn't blatantly running down the clock, limped out of the Etihad and had a bandage on one of his knees - maybe he had actually picked up an injury among all the time-wasting in the mother of all plot twists.

Gabriel Magalhaes stopped to speak to Brazilian media, giving an air of calm amid the chaos of the previous 90 minutes (although Bernardo Silva looked calm when speaking to the same reporters, yet the translated quotes were explosive).

Arteta left with less of a smile on his face in contrast to his players and coaches. Maybe it was his press conference grilling, or maybe he is the same as Guardiola - completely engrossed in the game until long after it has finished. Still, the general mood of Arsenal's camp at the Etihad was more of an upbeat group.

After all, however they achieved it, a point is a good result. And they were so close to a brilliant win with ten men. Their second half performance was one to protect their two goals - mission accomplished in that regard.

And despite Arteta's unwillingness to acknowledge the unapologetic tactics, the Arsenal anger did appear to have remained on the pitch at full time... that is until they opened their newspapers on Monday to see Bernardo's brutal unpicking of their mentality, or Akanji's title declaration.

Bring on the reverse fixture at the Emirates.

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