Arsenal fans are furious about what Manchester City midfielder Rodri did early into the Premier League clash at the Etihad Stadium.
The Gunners travelled to Manchester in the hope of securing an overdue three points on the road against Man City.
Pep Guardiola’s side are not easy to beat, but neither are Arsenal away from home, having a near-perfect away record in 2024.
There’s work to be done until Mikel Arteta is in a position to usurp his former teacher, with the gap between the North Londoners and the champions closing year by year.
In a showdown on match day five of the 2024/25 Premier League season, the two sides met at the Etihad, with drama not being far from the fixture as early as the opening 10 seconds.
Manchester City midfielder Rodri, who sadly went off injured later in the half, fell to the floor just seconds after kick off after colliding with Kai Havertz.
- READ MORE: What Kai Havertz did to Rodri just seconds into Man City vs Arsenal to infuriate Pep Guardiola
Arsenal fans react to early Rodri and Kai Havertz incident during Man City clash
The Spaniard was seen running in the direction of Havertz at the kick off, which ended in the two players colliding as the German stood his ground.
Rodri then fell to the floor clutching his face, which prompted fans to react to the incident on X, accusing the midfielder of cheating.
“It’s taken Rodri two seconds to cheat. Well done mate,” one Arsenal fan said, to which another agreed with, “Rodri is so fake.”
Another Arsenal supporter echoed the belief that the Euro 2024 winner was attempting to cheat.
“It was an attempt to get an opponent sent off. He moved towards Havertz to instigate the contact. Cheating.”
There is some bad blood between Arsenal and Rodri in particular, as the 28-year-old chose to comment on the Gunners after winning the title with City last season.
The Spain international questioned the mentality of Arteta’s side, implying that Arsenal played for a draw at the Etihad in 2023/24.
After the opening seconds of the 2024/25 clash, Arsenal fans had something to say about Rodri’s mentality.
“Rodri are you not embarrassed?” One Arsenal supporter said, with their view echoed by another, “Rodri should try in Hollywood, great actor!”
“Rodri steps in front of a car, begging for a red after seconds. Good call from the refs.”
VAR checked the incident and cleared it as a body-to-body collision, leaving Rodri to pick himself up and brush himself off for the remainder of the game.
Arsenal fan Piers Morgan was another supporter to have a say on the clash between the two players, as he questioned the validity of Rodri’s collapse.
“Poor Rodri, is he still alive? Looked a really savage light brush with Havertz’s hand.”
No love lost between Arsenal and Rodri
As mentioned, Rodri is not a popular figure from an Arsenal point of view, not only for his comments last season, but for his late winner at the Emirates in 2022.
The Spaniard is a difficult figure to contain, which the Gunners were relieved of later in the first half as the 28-year-old went off in some discomfort.
It was a great shame to see the City midfielder have to withdraw on such an occasion, with his actions early into the fixture suggesting that he had a lot to say on the pitch.
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