17 February 2023 , 10:14
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Kevin De Bruyne was always "stroppy", "moody" and "grumpy" during his time at Chelsea.
That's according to his former Blues teammate John Obi Mikel, who provided some intriguing insight on the Belgian, who was involved in a controversial moment during Manchester City's recent 3-1 win over Arsenal.
De Bruyne is often portrayed as a quiet and calm individual but he clashed with Gunners manager Mikel Arteta on the touchline on Wednesday, pushing the former Man City coach before pointing at him.
The exchange saw Arteta try and slow down play by preventing De Bruyne from collecting the ball to take a quick throw-in.
Angered by Arteta's tactics, De Bruyne reacted by shoving the Arsenal boss, who was visibly taken by surprise.
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De Bruyne retrieved the ball as Arteta collected himself before the Belgian then pointed at the Gunners manager and appeared to utter something.
Former Chelsea midfielder Mikel played alongside De Bruyne at Stamford Bridge from 2012 to 2014, and his comments on the Belgian suggest his actions aren't as surprising as they may have first seemed.
"Kevin was always a stroppy guy, he was always on his own, he was always moody, he was always grumpy. You could never get anything out of him," Mikel told Dubai Eye 103.8 Sport. "But now when I watch him play… what a joy. What a joy to watch."
De Bruyne had bottles thrown at him from the Emirates crowd later on in the same match on Wednesday.
Kevin De Bruyne pushes Mikel Arteta on the touchline (Amazon Prime)The 31-year-old, who opened the scoring for City, was targeted as he walked around the pitch after being substituted late on.
The Football Association has now launched an investigation after Referee Anthony Taylor mentioned the incident in his match report.
Arsenal are studying CCTV footage in a bid to find those responsible. The club says strict sanctions will be imposed if the culprits can be identified. "This is unacceptable and will not be tolerated," a Gunners spokesperson added.
De Bruyne took to social media after the match to poke fun at the incident. He uploaded a picture of himself at the Emirates to Instagram with the caption: "Beer anyone?"
Alongside another picture of him next to a cup that had been thrown, he wrote: "Thanks!"