Manchester City star Kyle Walker has spoken out about the reason behind his tunnel bust-up with Arsenal coach Nicolas Jover prior to the international break. The right-back has vowed to apologise for his behaviour, feeling that his conduct was ‘too much’.
City were handed their second defeat of the season at the hands of the Gunners earlier this month, with Mikel Arteta’s side securing a 1-0 win after a late winner from Gabriel Martinelli. However, tempers boiled over after the full-time whistle sounded in unsavoury scenes.
Walker was at the heart of the squabble, with the England international left enraged with Arsenal set-piece tactician Jover after he tried to shake his hand as he left the pitch. It has since emerged that the coach – who left City for the Gunners – had refused to offer his hand last season when his side lost on both occasions that the two teams met, prompting the outrage.
Walker stormed towards Jover to voice his view on the matter, squaring up to the former Brentford coach, with Erling Haaland and Jack Grealish flocking to the scene to support their teammate in his protests. Pitch-side security intervened to diffuse the situation and urge the players to head down the tunnel.
Speaking about the incident whilst on international duty, Walker explained: “I don’t like losing. A couple of matches before, Nico, who worked for Man City, and he did not want to shake hands when we beat them before. When we lost, he wanted to shake my hand and I did not take it lightly. Simple as that.
”I haven’t been in touch but I have been concentrating on England but I will probably reach out to him, definitely. I will say, it was probably a bit too much.
