Kai Havertz escapes red card after incident FOUR seconds into Man City vs Arsenal

Manchester City's Premier League clash with Arsenal was halted after just a matter of seconds as Gunners forward Kai Havertz collided with Rodri just after kick-off at the Etihad

Manchester City's showdown with Arsenal was halted after just FOUR seconds following bizarre incident involving Kai Havertz.

Just moments after Michael Oliver got the game underway, the German forward collided with Rodri. The Manchester City midfielder fell to the floor clutching his face and required treatment.

He was fine to continue after a near-two minute stoppage and the game got back underway - with Havertz also escaping punishment. There was some uncertainty whether the Gunners star would be sent off, but Oliver decided against an early red card.

Former Everton midfielder Leon Osman gave his view on the bizarre clash. Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, he said: "Rodri tried to step across Havertz and Havertz runs through him. Havertz saw it coming and barged him in the chest. Havertz, said: 'if your going to do that, I'm going to leave a bit on you'."

There was also another incident just moments later as City striker Erling Haaland produced a crunching tackle on Arsenal's Gabriel Magalhaes. Referee Oliver intervened and awarded the Gunners a free kick but refused to hand out any more punishment to the Norwegian forward.

Arsenal might have been hoping that he had after he gave Pep Guardiola's side. He was released behind the Gunners defence and score with a clinical, low finish.

It marked his 100th goal for the club since arriving from German side Borussia Dortmund, in what was only his 105th appearance. His form has been absolutely brilliant this season having already scored ten goals in the Premier League.

Image: Getty Images) Getty Images)

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The game continued to be incident-hit with only 15 minutes on the clock. As City attempted to add to their lead from a corner, Spanish midfielder Rodri went down clutching his knee and was forced to receive lengthy medical treatment.

Guardiola was also forced into action as the Euro 2024 was replaced by midfield colleague Mateo Kovacic. It was only Rodri's first Premier League start of the campaign and City will now hope that he does not miss action over the coming months.

Man City's anguish was then made even worse as Arsenal's summer signing Riccardo Calafiori netted a stunning equaliser from distance. The hosts were left furious at the goal, with boss Guardiola even going as far as kicking his seat, while Ederson was also shown a yellow card in the post-goal celebrations. Gabriel then completed a stunning first-half turnaround for Arsenal.

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